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 says
“Businesses can adjust prices to recover the cost of accepting card payments but must not give false or misleading information about prices or the reasons for any price increases.”
“Businesses must make sure their price displays and any other customer communications about prices reflect the total price payable.”
The ACCC's hair salon example: a haircut costs $60 with a 1.0% credit card surcharge. Building the card costs in “would mean the price of the haircut would be $60.60.” If the salon raises it to $65 because other costs went up too, “the hair salon must not tell consumers that the price increase is due to the changes to card payment surcharging.”
Source: ACCC: Card surcharges, retrieved 28 October 2026. Our free price update helper does the same sum for your own prices.
Café version
Our own wording, not an official template. Use the one that matches why your prices changed.
If the only change is building in your old card surcharge
We no longer add a surcharge for paying by card. Our menu prices now include the cost of accepting cards, so some prices have changed from [date].
If other costs went into the change too
We no longer add a surcharge for paying by card. Some menu prices have changed from [date] to reflect our overall running costs.
Salon version
If the only change is building in your old card surcharge
We no longer add a surcharge for paying by card. Our service prices now include the cost of accepting cards, so some prices have changed from [date].
If other costs went into the change too (list only the ones that are true)
We no longer add a surcharge for paying by card. Some service prices have changed from [date] to reflect our overall running costs, including products, wages and rent.
Steps
1. Menu and price list
- Update every place a price appears: printed menus, the board, your price list at reception, your website, booking pages and ordering apps.
- Show the full price you charge, as a single figure. Remove any “+ card fee” notes.
2. Tell customers
- Put the notice where customers order or pay, and on your website or booking page.
- Give staff the same wording, so what they say matches the notice.
3. Keep records
- In our view it helps to keep a short note of each price change: the old price, the new price, the date and the reasons. It makes it easier to answer a customer's question honestly and to keep your notice accurate.
Sources
Quotes checked against the ACCC and RBA pages on 28 October 2026.