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From 1 October 2026, in-person and online payment surcharges will be banned in Australia for payments using EFTPOS, Mastercard, and Visa debit, prepaid and credit cards. This means clients should no longer see an extra card surcharge added at checkout for the payment types covered by the new rules.
The change is designed to make payments simpler and help clients understand the full cost of a service upfront.
Research found that the existing surcharge framework was too complicated and inconsistent, and that a whopping 76% of Australian consumers wanted surcharging to stop.
Important note: some implementation details are still being confirmed, and we’ll continue to update this article as more information becomes available.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
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Which payment types are affected?
The surcharge ban is expected to apply to most consumer card payments made using:
- Visa debit
- Mastercard
- EFTPOS
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Prepaid and credit cards
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Will Timely automatically update to comply with the new rules?
Yes. If you’re using TimelyPay, we’ll make the necessary product updates to support compliance with the new regulations before they come into effect. Your Timely account stays exactly as it is for now. If any action is required from you before 1 October 2026, we’ll let you know.
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Do I need to change any settings or workflows?
No. There’s nothing you need to change in Timely right now. You can continue using TimelyPay as normal. If any surcharge related settings or workflows need to change closer to October, we’ll provide clear instructions ahead of time.
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What should I do before the surcharge ban begins?
There’s no immediate action required in Timely, but now is a good time to start planning. You may want to:
- Check your current TimelyPay transaction rates.
- Review how much you currently recover through surcharging.
- Calculate what the change could cost across your most popular services.
- Review your pricing before the changes kick in on 1 October 2026.
- Let clients know about any pricing changes well ahead of time
- You can find your TimelyPay transaction rates by heading to Setup > TimelyPay and scrolling down to the Fees section.
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How can I offset losing surcharge revenue?
Some businesses may choose to review their service prices before the surcharge ban begins. Others may decide to absorb some or all of their payment processing costs as part of doing business.
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What will this change cost me?
Here’s what that looks like in practice. Let’s say you have a $200 service, paying a 1.5% transaction rate, plus 50c in fixed fees. That would work out to:- Your service price x the transaction rate + any fixed fees
- 200 x 0.015 + 0.50 = $3.50 in fees
- For a rough idea of the potential cost to your business over a month:
- Do this calculation for every service you offer
- Multiply the fees by the number of services you’ve done that month
- Add all those ‘fees per service’ numbers together
Just remember this is only a rough calculation, and that the actual costs will vary depending on different factors (like whether a client has had multiple services in one appointment).
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Will TimelyPay rates be reduced or renegotiated?
The RBA has announced changes that are expected to reduce interchange costs for payment providers. The final impact on TimelyPay pricing is still being confirmed.
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Can I request a better TimelyPay rate or deal?
We know that payments are an important part of your business and that you have a choice when it comes to selecting your payment provider.We believe using Timely payments delivers exceptional value to your business, syncing directly to your Timely account, helping you reduce no-shows and cancellations, and making reporting easier. If you transact over [AU] $8,000 in card payments every month, year-round, we’ll be happy to review your account and talk through the options available for your business.
Please get in touch with our Support Team via one of our available channels.
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Do these rules apply in all the states?
Yes. The surcharge ban is being introduced nationally in Australia. It isn’t limited to a specific state or territory. That means the rules are expected to apply across all of Australia.
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Can I still charge any type of surcharge?
For the payment types covered by the new regulations, businesses will generally no longer be able to apply card payment surcharges after 1 October 2026.
Timely note: NZ surcharge changes are not confirmed and still under review by the government.
For more information, you can read our Timely Blog: The in-person payment surcharge ban. We'll continue to update this article as more information becomes available.