Who made this: We're the Surcharge Sweep team, part of the Grokadots team. This page and our checker are free, and the Price Reset Kit is our own paid product. You don't need the kit to use this page.
Disclaimer: General information only, not legal advice. Rules can change, so check the ACCC and RBA pages linked below and confirm with your payment provider.
What the ACCC and RBA say
“From 1 October 2026, businesses can no longer add a surcharge for payments made using Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos cards.”
“American Express, UnionPay and PayPal have also decided to remove surcharging. These firms are not currently subject to formal regulation by the RBA.”
“The new rules only apply to card payment surcharges. They do not apply to other fees or surcharges, such as weekend and public holiday surcharges.”
Short signs to copy
These are our own suggestions, not official templates. Pick one that is true for your business.
Counter or door sign
We no longer add a surcharge for paying by card.
Shortest version
No card surcharge here.
With the date
From 1 October 2026, we no longer add card surcharges.
To print without the buttons, use your browser's print option: this page prints only the signs, large and one per page.
Steps
- Take down old signs, stickers and terminal labels that mention a card surcharge.
- Check your terminal no longer adds a surcharge. The RBA says: “Your payment service provider is the best point of contact for support with the removal of card surcharges.”
- Put up one new sign where customers pay, using wording that is true for you.
- Tell staff what changed, so the sign and what they say match.
- Check the rest of your wording (menus, website, invoices) with our free checker.
What not to say
- Don't rename a card surcharge as a “service fee”, “admin fee” or “card handling fee”. The ACCC says: “Businesses that do this may be engaging in misleading conduct.”
- Don't tell customers a price rise is all down to card surcharging if other costs went into it too. In the ACCC's hair salon example, the salon “must not tell consumers that the price increase is due to the changes to card payment surcharging” when the rise also reflects other costs.
- Don't put only a cash price on a sign. The ACCC says businesses should not “display only the discounted price” or “make the discounted price more prominent than the full price.” Our free cash discount helper checks sign wording with the full price first.
- If you still charge a weekend or public holiday surcharge, don't let a “no surcharge” sign suggest otherwise. In our view, “No card surcharge” is clearer than “No surcharges” in that case.
Related
Changing prices as well? See our price change notice wording. For invoices, see invoice surcharge wording, and for common questions, our card surcharge FAQ.
Sources
Quotes checked against the ACCC and RBA pages on 28 October 2026.