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Credit Card Surcharge Changes

Picture of Sympac Solutions Sympac Solutions September 4, 2026

Software Updates & Alerts

 

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Credit Card Surcharge

From 1 October 2026, Australian businesses can no longer add a surcharge to Eftpos, Mastercard or Visa payments.
This covers debit, prepaid and credit cards. American Express, JCB, Zip Pay, Afterpay and UnionPay have confirmed they will remove surcharging from the same date.

The change comes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging. It is enforced through the card scheme rules that sit behind your merchant agreement.

 

Here's what you need to do!

If you currently pass a surcharge on to customers, set it to zero before you open on 1st October by following the guide below.

  • From the Sympac Main Menu, click TILLS, then EDIT TENDER TYPES.

  • Select the tender type that carries the surcharge, for example EFTPOS or Credit Card.

  • Set the Credit Card Surcharge Percentage to 0.00.

  • Select Save.

  • Repeat for every tender type that has a surcharge against it.

  • Check it worked. Process a test sale at POS, tender to the affected type, and confirm no #SURCHARGE line is added to the sale.

⚠️Important Note: If you trade from more than one site, this needs to be done on each store database!

 

INTEGRATED EFTPOS TERMINALS (TILL PAYMENTS)

  • Surcharges on Till Payment tender types are configured on the terminal, not in Sympac.

  • Sympac only records what the terminal passes back.

  • Please contact Till Payments to have the surcharge removed from the terminal.

 

A FEW OTHER THINGS TO CHECK!

  • Debtor receipts:

    • The same tender type percentage drives surcharges on debtor receipts, so setting it to zero covers both POS and receipts.

  • Quotes and standing arrangements:

    • Review any saved quotes, recurring billing or account arrangements that include a surcharge line.

  • Retail pricing:

    • Card acceptance costs do not disappear on 1 October, so many businesses are reviewing pricing now. Interchange caps also drop on the same date, which should reduce what you pay per transaction.

 

ACT BEFORE 1ST OCT 2026

  • Please make the change before you open on 1 October 2026.

  • It only takes a couple of minutes per tender type.

 

FIND OUT MORE

  • RBA Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging – Media Release

 

WE'RE HERE TO HELP!

  • If you need any assistance or have any questions please call the Sympac Help Desk on (03) 5649 6200.

  • Our Client Services Team are available from 7am to 8pm EST to assist you.