Misleading surcharging practices and other add-on costs has bene confirmed as a compliance and enforcement priority for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in the 2025-26 financial year.
The ACCC is encouraging businesses to review their card payment surcharges to ensure they are in line with their cost of accepting card payments.
Deputy chair Mick Keogh said businesses need to ensure they adequately disclose upfront card payment surcharges for every transaction, and that they are only charging what it costs them to accept those card payments.
The Australian Consumer Law prohibits businesses from misleading people about the prices they charge.
The Competition and Consumer Act also prohibits businesses from charging a card payment surcharge that is excessive. A card payment surcharge is considered excessive if it is higher than the business’s ‘cost of acceptance’.
The ACCC provided an example, saying that if a business’s cost of acceptance, including merchant fees and other costs, is 1 per cent, then they can only apply a surcharge to customers of up to 1 per cent.
The consumer watchdog has commenced an education and compliance campaign to inform businesses, particularly small businesses, of their obligations and help them to comply with the relevant laws. It will also be engaging closely with relevant industry representatives to help them support their small business members in complying with the laws.
The ACCC will also be actively monitoring business compliance, and may take appropriate compliance or enforcement action, in line with its Compliance and Enforcement Policy.
“We understand that small businesses need to be across a lot of information to comply with all of the laws that apply to their business, however, charging excessive surcharges and not being upfront with customers about pricing can result in small businesses losing customers,” Keogh said.
“It is important for small businesses to ensure they understand their obligations and check their costs of acceptance to know what amounts they can legally charge their customers as a payment surcharge, as well as reviewing how they inform customers of their prices, including any applicable surcharges.”