When the surcharge lever goes away: what Australia’s 2026 surcharging ban signals for cost recovery

Beginning 1 October 2026, Australia will remove merchants’ ability to surcharge transactions on designated eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa debit, prepaid, and credit card networks. The Reserve Bank of Australia is pairing the change with lower interchange caps and new fee-transparency requirements. The details matter, but the bigger story is what happens next.