Card surcharge ban used as ‘cover’ for larger price increases by Australian businesses, experts say
‘Round-up’ pricing in items such as coffee suggests increases are exceeding the typical 1.5% surcharge fee Follow our Australia politics live blog for latest updates Businesses are using the recent ban on credit card surcharges as “cover” to pass along much larger price increases to customers, experts say, as cafes and restaurants struggle to cope with climbing costs and rising interest rates.
Credit card surcharges, typically worth about 1.5% of the transaction, were banned from 1 October, as part of a Reserve Bank-led reform aimed at improving transparency for customers and, ultimately, lowering bank fees.
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The GuardianSource headline and summary supplied via NewsData.io. First collected by NewsJaws on 2026-10-13. This is an automated news brief, not original NewsJaws reporting. Dates reflect the source publication. Feed delays may apply.