This applies to you if your business accepts debit or credit card payments from customers, in person, online or both.
On 1 October 2026, a change took effect that affects whether businesses can pass card fees on to customers through a surcharge. Under the new framework, card schemes such as eftpos, Mastercard and Visa can now prohibit businesses from adding a surcharge to card payments.
Separately, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) continues to take enforcement action over misleading discount pricing. That is a different issue with different rules, but it matters to any business that changes its prices or runs promotions. We cover both below and keep them apart.
Part one: the card surcharge change
What has changed
Legislation now allows card schemes to prohibit businesses from passing on card surcharges. Whether a scheme applies the prohibition is up to that scheme.
Who enforces it
Enforcement comes from the card scheme, not from a government body. In practice, a scheme can act against a business that does not comply with its rules. This usually flows through your merchant agreement and your payment provider.
It is not a blanket ban for everyone on the same day
Schemes decide how and when to apply the prohibition, and some have already signalled more lenient transition rules for small businesses. That means the position can differ depending on which cards you accept and which provider you use.
What it means for your pricing
If you can no longer add a surcharge, the cost of accepting cards must be recovered another way. For many businesses, that means building it into prices. If you do that, the way you change and promote your prices matters, which leads to part two.
Part two: ACCC action on discount pricing
This is a separate matter from the surcharge change. It is not a result of it, and it is not linked to the card rules.
The ACCC has been pursuing businesses over ‘was / now’ and discount pricing under the Australian Consumer Law. In May 2026, the Federal Court found that a major supermarket retailer misled customers on 13 of 14 sample products, after it raised prices before running a promotion at or above the earlier price. A decision on penalties is still to come. The ACCC has also taken action against another major retailer in the electronics sector over online discounts.
The ACCC has also signalled interest in Black Friday conduct, including countdown timers that overstate urgency, ‘site-wide’ sales with hidden exclusions, fine print that undercuts a headline offer, and ‘up to X% off’ claims where few products qualify.
The point for business owners is simple. A ‘was’ price needs to be a price you genuinely charged for a reasonable period. This applies whether you are adjusting prices for card costs
What to do now
On card payments
- Check your merchant agreement. Look at what your card schemes and payment provider require about surcharging.
- Review how you charge today. Identify whether you add a surcharge to any card type, and whether you need to change that.
- Ask your provider about transition rules. Some small businesses have been given more lenient timing.
- Work out how you will recover card costs. If you move costs into your prices, document the reasoning at the time you decide.
On pricing and promotions
- Be careful with timing. Think twice before running a ‘was / now’ promotion shortly after a price rise on the same products.
- Only use a genuine ‘was’ price. It should reflect a price you charged for a reasonable period, not a price set up to make a later discount look bigger.
- Apply changes consistently. Keep a clear, documented approach to repricing, and make sure your team can explain it the same way to every customer.
- Review your promotional material. Check price lists, membership terms, websites and campaigns together, not in isolation.
None of this needs to be complicated. Businesses that check their agreements, document their reasoning and keep their pricing honest will be in a far stronger position than those that make quick, unrecorded changes.
Where to next
If you’d like to talk through what this means for your business specifically, we’re here to help. As a full-service law firm, we can also assist with related areas such as commercial contracts, property and leasing, franchising, employment and disputes.
