Travel businesses can no longer add a surcharge to Visa, Mastercard or eftpos payments, after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s ban on credit card surcharging took effect on 1 October 2026.
American Express sits outside the Reserve Bank’s regulated framework, but it has separately banned surcharging under its merchant terms from the same date. As a result, travel agencies, tour operators and wholesalers can no longer recover card acceptance costs through surcharges on the main card schemes.
Service fees and transitional bookings
The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) has released a six-part fact sheet series and held a member webinar to help businesses adjust. The fact sheets cover:
- how the new rules work and which cards and transactions are affected
- payment processing costs, including the difference between blended pricing and itemised pricing models, least-cost routing, and reviewing provider agreements
- when a service fee is genuine and when it would be treated as a surcharge, plus disclosure requirements
- lower-cost payment options such as PayTo and PayID, and paying suppliers directly
- offering discounts for cheaper payment methods without effectively penalising card payments
- transitional bookings, where a booking was made before 1 October but payment falls due afterwards
For agencies, the main issues are reviewing merchant fees and making sure any service fees comply with the new rules. Booking terms and pricing may also need to be adjusted to absorb card costs.
ATIA to keep pressing Reserve Bank
ATIA lodged two formal submissions to the Reserve Bank’s review, met the Bank several times and raised the issue with the Government and the Opposition. It warned the change would shift card acceptance costs onto travel businesses and, ultimately, onto prices.
Alongside other business groups, ATIA secured a three-month delay to the start date, which moved from 1 July to 1 October 2026.
ATIA CEO Dean Long said the association would continue to question the basis for the decision.
“While we’ve lost the fight in terms of the ban being put in place, we will keep pressing the Reserve Bank on the case it used to justify this decision,” Long said.
He said the association had focused on giving members tools to choose their own approach.
“No two travel businesses are in the same position on payments, so we have focused on providing the tools and information for each member to map the best path forward,” he said.
Consumer messaging on summit agenda
ATIA’s Beyond Borders Travel Summit in Melbourne on 9 October 2026 includes a session on how to explain the change to consumers.
