From 1 October 2026, Australian businesses can no longer add a surcharge because a customer chooses to pay by card. The change follows the Reserve Bank of Australia's review of retail payments regulation, and it is implemented through no-surcharge rules introduced by the card networks themselves.
The rules cover credit, debit and prepaid cards on the Visa, Mastercard and eftpos networks, and American Express has adopted the same position. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's card surcharge guidance (opens in a new tab) confirms the 1 October date and states that businesses must continue to follow the current surcharging laws until then.
What changes for a solar or battery purchase
Solar and battery systems are among the larger purchases many households make by card, and payment is usually split between a deposit at signing and a final payment after installation. Under the previous rules a business could pass on its card acceptance cost as a separate line, up to that cost. From 1 October that separate line is no longer available.
The cost of accepting a card does not disappear. The Reserve Bank's published answers on the change (opens in a new tab) explain that a business can account for it in its overall pricing. In practice, a quoted system price may now include some or all of the processing cost, and that price applies however the customer pays.
Lower caps on the interchange fees that card issuers charge also apply to domestic card transactions from 1 October 2026, which reduces part of the cost a business carries. The caps extend to foreign-issued cards on 1 April 2027.
Invoices issued before 1 October
The date that matters is the date of payment, not the date of the invoice. The Reserve Bank's guidance states that if a card payment is made on or after 1 October 2026, a surcharge may no longer be available even where the invoice was issued earlier.
This is relevant to installations signed in September and completed in October. A final invoice that showed a card surcharge at the time of signing should not carry that surcharge when it is paid by card after the rules take effect.
Discounts remain permitted, relabelled fees do not
Businesses can continue to offer a discount for a particular payment method, such as bank transfer. What the rules prevent is adding a charge because the customer paid by card.
The ACCC has also warned that describing a card surcharge as another kind of fee to avoid the rules may be misleading conduct.
What customers can check
- A quote or invoice with a payment due on or after 1 October should not add a separate fee for paying by card.
- A new fee that appears under a different name at the card payment step is worth querying with the business.
- A discount for paying by bank transfer is still allowed and is a legitimate alternative to a surcharge.
The change applies across the economy and is not specific to energy. For the other checks worth making before paying a solar or battery deposit, including what the deposit secures and the refund terms, see the solar and battery consumer protection guide.
