Can tradies charge a card surcharge in Australia?
Updated 10 October 2026
Short answer
No, not on the cards most customers use. From 1 October 2026, businesses in Australia can't add a surcharge to Visa, Mastercard, eftpos or American Express payments, whether the customer pays in person or online from an invoice, and whether they're a household or a business. PayPal surcharges ended on 5 October 2026.
You can still recover card costs through your overall prices, or offer a properly disclosed discount for paying by bank transfer or PayID.
What changed
In March 2026 the Reserve Bank decided to remove surcharging on debit, prepaid and credit cards on the eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks from 1 October 2026, and cut the interchange fees banks charge on card payments at the same time. It did this by letting the card networks ban surcharges in their own rules, which they now do. American Express and UnionPay brought in the same rule. The ACCC's old rules, which capped a surcharge at your actual card cost, ended on the same day because there's no longer a surcharge to cap.
Which payments you can still surcharge
| How the customer pays | Can you add a surcharge? |
|---|---|
| Visa or Mastercard (credit, debit or prepaid) | No, since 1 October 2026 |
| eftpos | No, since 1 October 2026 |
| American Express | No, since 1 October 2026 |
| UnionPay | No, since 1 October 2026 |
| PayPal | No, since 5 October 2026 |
| Buy now, pay later (Afterpay and others) | Not covered by the October change. The RBA is reviewing these separately, so check your provider's terms. |
| Bank transfer or PayID | No card fee to pass on in the first place |
What you can do instead
- Price it in. Card fees are a cost of doing business, like fuel. Most tradies are better off adding a small margin to their rates than itemising fees. If you raise prices, don't blame the whole rise on the surcharge change if other costs are part of it.
- Offer a discount for bank transfer or PayID. This is allowed, as long as you tell the customer before they commit, the full price is the price you display, and the discounted price isn't shown on its own or more prominently.
- Make bank transfer the easy option. Put your BSB, account number and a payment reference on every invoice so paying by transfer is as easy as tapping a card.
- Don't rename it. A "processing fee" or "admin fee" that only applies to card payments is still a card surcharge, and the ACCC says relabelling it may be misleading.
Other fees are unaffected
Call-out fees, after-hours rates, weekend and public holiday rates aren't card surcharges because they don't depend on how the customer pays. You can keep charging them, as long as you tell customers up front and include them in the total price you quote.
How this works in Jobbit
Every Jobbit invoice can show your bank details for a fee-free transfer alongside a pay-by-card link, so customers choose. Card payments go through Stripe. Quote the total including GST, take a deposit when the quote's accepted, and invoice the balance from the job. See our tax invoice checklist for what else each invoice needs.
FAQ
Can tradies still charge a card surcharge in Australia?
Not on Visa, Mastercard, eftpos or American Express. Surcharges on those cards were removed from 1 October 2026, including for invoices paid online and for business customers. PayPal followed on 5 October 2026.
How can I cover card fees now?
Build the cost into your prices, or offer a discount for paying by bank transfer or PayID. If you offer a discount, tell the customer before they commit, keep the full price as the displayed price, and don't show the discounted price alone or more prominently.
Can I call it a 'processing fee' instead?
No. The ACCC warns that relabelling a card surcharge as some other fee to get around the rules may be misleading.
Is this a law?
It isn't legislation. The RBA removed its ban on card networks having no-surcharge rules, and the networks now prohibit surcharges through their merchant rules and your payment provider's agreement. Breaking them puts your merchant account at risk.
Are after-hours or call-out fees affected?
No. Fees that don't depend on how the customer pays, like call-out, after-hours or weekend rates, aren't card surcharges. Normal price-display rules still apply, so be upfront about them.
What about invoices I sent before 1 October?
If the customer pays by card on or after 1 October 2026, you may no longer be able to add the surcharge, even if the invoice went out earlier.
Sources
Summarised from the Reserve Bank of Australia and the ACCC, checked 9 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Your payment provider's merchant agreement sets out the rules for your account.
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