Help & support
On 31 March 2026, the RBA announced the following changes:
From 1 October 2026, your business will no longer be able to apply surcharges to payments made using eftpos, Mastercard or Visa cards in line with changes announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
American Express, JCB and UnionPay have confirmed it supports the RBA's payment reforms and are working to remove surcharging from the same date.
If your business currently applies card surcharges, you will need to:
Remove surcharge settings across all payment acceptance channels including:
Got a CommBank EFTPOS terminal? Learn how to disable surcharging.
Make sure your staff understand the changes and know how to help customers with any questions.
Run a test transaction across your payment channels to confirm card surcharges are no longer being applied.
Update customer-facing materials that refer to card surcharges, including:
The RBA reduced interchange fee caps for Australian-issued cards on 1 October 2026. It will also reduce interchange fee caps for foreign-issued cards from 1 April 2027.
CommBank has passed on the changes for Australian-issued cards by automatically adjusting the interchange fees paid by merchants on Interchange Plus and Interchange Plus Plus pricing plans, excluding GST.
The changes for foreign-issued cards will be applied automatically from 1 April 2027.
If your business is a charity, your 0% interchange fee remains unchanged.
CommBank also reduced the merchant service fee on Single Rate Per Transaction (SRPT) pricing plans fee from 1.10% to 0.99%, on 1 October 20262. Existing customers were automatically moved to the new 0.99% rate, with no customer action required.
Interchange fees are set by card schemes (such as Visa and Mastercard) that apply each time a customer makes a card payment to your business.
These fees are passed on as part of your overall merchant fees and shown in the ‘Billing of your interchange fee’ section of your monthly merchant statement.
Foreign-issued Mastercard and Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards: New interchange rate set at a maximum of 1.00%
The RBA is introducing new transparency requirements to enhance merchants' understanding of the fees they pay for accepting card payments.
CommBank will publish its first quarterly Merchant Service Fees report (covering July–September 2026).
CommBank will publish its first quarterly Interchange Pass-Through Rate report (covering October–December 2026).
Your merchant statements will include updated, standardised cost-of-acceptance information in an enhanced monthly format.
Albert Naffah, CommBank's General Manager of Payments Acceptance, explains the card surcharging changes and what they mean for your business.
Albert Naffah, CommBank's General Manager of Payments Acceptance, explains the card surcharging changes and what they mean for your business.
A surcharge is an extra fee a business may add to a customer’s bill to recover the cost of accepting a debit or credit card payment.
From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to add this fee to payments made using eftpos, Mastercard or Visa cards. American Express, JCB and UnionPay have confirmed it supports the RBA's payment reforms and are working to remove surcharging from the same date.
Read more on card surcharging.
Look at all the ways you take payments, including your:
Wherever you currently add a card surcharge, switch it off before 1 October 2026. It's also a good idea to update your website, signage, menus, receipts, invoices and quotes, and let your team know what's changing so they can answer any customer questions.
For more information, read our article on how to prepare your business for the card surcharge changes.
Follow these steps to disable surcharging on your CommBank EFTPOS terminal.
Yes. If you add a card surcharge through another system, like a point-of-sale (POS) system, Practice Management Software (PMS) or another third-party platform, you'll need to switch those settings off yourself before 1 October 2026.
If surcharging remains enabled after this date, some card payments may not process as expected.
If you're not sure how, your POS provider or third-party provider can help.
On 1 October 2026, we'll automatically switch off card surcharging on your CommWeb platform. There's nothing you need to do.
PowerBoard and Internet Merchant Account (IMA) don't support surcharging.
For most customers, no action is required.
From 1 October 2026, we'll automatically switch off card surcharging in BPOINT.
If you use BPOINT IVR Standard, we'll automatically remove surcharge-related messaging from the standard IVR experience. If you use BPOINT IVR Premier and your customised script includes surcharge-related messaging, we'll contact you if any updates are needed.
If your Hosted Payment Page (HPP) includes references to card surcharges, please review and update this content before 1 October 2026 to reflect the changes.
You can test the surcharge-free experience in your User Acceptance Testing (UAT) environment from 7 September 2026. If you need help, contact BPOINT Support on 1300 766 031 or support@bpoint.com.au.
What this means for you:
Test the updated experience in UAT from 7 September if you'd like to validate your customer journey before 1 October.
The RBA's changes apply to card payment surcharges. Other types of surcharges, such as weekend or public holiday surcharges, are covered by separate rules set out by the ACCC. For guidance on displaying prices and applying these surcharges, visit the ACCC website.
If you have a dedicated Relationship Manager, please reach out to them directly. They can help you understand what these changes mean for your business and support you through next steps.
Effective on 1 October 2026:
Same-day settlement with a linked CommBank Business Transaction Account.1
Our EFTPOS terminals have a 0.99% flat-rate transaction fee2 and no lock-in contract.3
Access integration support and 24/7 help, plus get a replacement terminal within 4 hours in metro locations.4
Know that Australia's largest financial institution is working hard to protect your business from fraud.
As this advice has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs, you should, before acting on the information, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances. Please view our Merchant Agreement (PDF) for applicable terms and conditions. Read the Terms and Conditions for Business Transaction and Savings Accounts (PDF) for terms and conditions applicable for CommBank Business Transaction Account and consider whether these products are right for you. The target market for this product can be found within the product’s Target Market Determination.
1 Same day settlement is available on all EFTPOS transactions made before 9:30pm (Sydney/Melbourne time) and all eCommerce transactions made before 5:30pm (Sydney/Melbourne time) for eligible customers with a CommBank Business Transaction Account and a linked CommBank merchant facility.
2 0.99% covers Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, JCB, eftpos, and UnionPay transactions (additional costs may apply for all other cards). AMEX is subject to approval, available to eligible customers only. Eligibility criteria, terms and conditions apply. Please contact AMEX for more information on 1300 363 614, available weekdays 8am to 6pm Sydney time.
3 No lock-in contracts: Cancel anytime, no fixed-term commitment. For all CommBank EFTPOS terminals, standard terms and conditions apply and 30 days' notice should be given.
4 Replacement within 4 business hours in all locations except remote areas (3 to 5 business days). A remote area is not serviced by a technician and only phone support is available.
