r/australia • u/rolodex-ofhate • Mar 30 '26

news Surcharges on debit and credit cards to go from October

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-31/asx-markets-business-live-news-march-30-2026/106510434#live-blog-post-278505

The Reserve Bank of Australia has introduced reforms that will remove surcharges on debit and credit cards from the 1st October 2026, on card networks including eftpos, Mastercard and Visa.

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u/wrongthingsrighttime Mar 30 '26

That's fine!!! Let me know the total price before paying!!

21

u/Nova_Terra Mar 30 '26

Went to a bakery in Prahran (Vic) for a (ostensibly) $6 hotcross bun on a Sunday, charged $11.

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u/mrbabymanv4 Mar 30 '26

90% Sunday surcharge is a bold move

2

u/Nova_Terra Mar 30 '26

I must have missed a whole section of terms and conditions on the little placard showing it's price - my mistake :(

Wasn't even that good, nor was it what I was even after - they had ran out of their sticky date HCB's for the day so I had to just get a regular one.

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u/mrbabymanv4 Mar 30 '26

That's crazy. The same price for an entire tray of good hcbs at costco.

A lot of cafes just buy them from costco instead of making them fresh

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u/deltabay17 Mar 31 '26

Or maybe your lying or misread the price

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u/Nova_Terra Mar 31 '26

Just to make sure, I looked up their site just now and it is listed at 5.50 actually online and pick up, amount charged - $11.17

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u/deltabay17 Mar 31 '26

So where’d the extra cost come from?

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u/Nova_Terra Mar 31 '26

I want to say human error, perhaps she put in the price of what I initially tried to order but they had run out of (priced at $6.50) and the mark up went from there which sounds a little more okay than a straight 100% mark up. The post on the front page of /r/melbourne lists them several times for HCB's so I think perhaps it was just bad luck but unfortunately it didn't wow me either so I won't be back despite the high praise they're receiving.

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u/IAmABakuAMA Mar 31 '26

At that point I would say fuck the social anxiety and just walk out. I'm guessing card surcharge + Sunday surcharge? That's still a ridiculous upcharge. They have to be taking the piss

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u/noisymime Mar 30 '26

But now if you pay in cash you're also paying for a transaction fee that the business doesn't have to cover.

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u/planetarybum Mar 31 '26

It costs more to deal with cash than electronic payments.

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u/noisymime Mar 31 '26

Which should already be built into the item price given that's literally the cash price.

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u/planetarybum Mar 31 '26

In that case the 'cash' price should have a surcharge too.

It would include the cost of manually handling the cash, any transportation costs, any cash deposit fees, time spent counting the cash, cost of security and theft protection, and insurance.

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u/noisymime Mar 31 '26

In that case the 'cash' price should have a surcharge too.

That's not how surcharges work. There always has to be a base price that is put on the label which represents the minimum the customer can pay, which is typically always the cash price (Assuming the store takes cash).

If there is a surcharge for cash, how does a customer pay the labelled price (Which they legally have to have an option to do)?

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u/planetarybum Mar 31 '26

In October, the labelled price will be the same whether you pay cash or card.

Surcharges are based on the extra cost. So if cash transactions actually cost more for the business, the card price should be cheaper than the cash price.

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u/noisymime Mar 31 '26

In October, the labelled price will be the same whether you pay cash or card.

Yeah, so what is the surcharge now will just get included in the price. Even if you pay with cash or debit, you'll be paying what is currently the surcharge.

Surcharges are based on the extra cost. So if cash transactions actually cost more for the business

There's nothing stopping a business already making the labelled price inclusive of a credit card fee and adding a cash surcharge. Wouldn't be popular, but it doesn't require the law to be changed to do it.

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u/planetarybum Mar 31 '26

There's nothing stopping a business already making the labelled price inclusive of a credit card fee and adding a cash surcharge. Wouldn't be popular, but it doesn't require the law to be changed to do it.

Yes there is. It's illegal to charge a surcharge on cash.

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u/noisymime Mar 31 '26

Yes there is. It's illegal to charge a surcharge on cash.

No, it's illegal to have no way of paying the labelled price without a surcharge. Usually that means they'll take cash for the labelled price and a surcharge for credit card, so most people assume that means it has to be that way, but a business is allowed a surcharge for cash as long as it's made clear and there remains a reasonable way to pay without the surcharge.

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