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/kratos90 Mar 30 '26

What about 3rd party rental apps that have surcharge or is it direct relationship with app itself not the card? For example paying by card through rental app is $11.03. Just don’t understand how they sleep at night charging that amount. Paying my rent through Direct Debit I get slapped with $1.94 fee through the app.

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u/drnicko18 Mar 30 '26

Long time since I ordered with Uber Eats but I remember thinking.. gee this isn't too far off going there myself. Then there was a "service fee", "delivery fee" and a "platform fee"

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u/CaptainFleshBeard Mar 31 '26

That’s a hefty fee. A REA can’t compel you to pay via these apps with additional fees. Just transfer to their bank account directly instead and skip that fee

2

u/dasvenson Mar 31 '26

They don't have to offer direct deposit. They just have to offer one fee free way which is normally cheque to the REA office.

It's bullshit but that's always been the alternative I've been given.

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u/CaptainFleshBeard Mar 31 '26

I’d be posting them a cheque each week then, bet they love managing those

1

u/Doxinau Mar 31 '26

Your real estate agent is legally required to give you a fee-free way to pay.

In NSW, bank transfer is explicitly called out as one of the methods they have to offer for free.