SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank wants merchants to remove surcharging on credit and debit card payments, in a move that could save consumers about A$1.2bil a year.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) estimates the aggregate impact on consumer prices from a removal of surcharging would be “very small” at around 0.1 percentage point, according to a consultation paper released in Sydney yesterday.
The RBA will consult on its proposals for six weeks and then release a conclusions paper at the end of the year.
It aims to implement the changes from mid-2026. Australia is currently at the extreme end of the spectrum in terms of surcharging with Europe, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States imposing a ban on debit card charges.
Europe and the United Kingdom also have a regulatory ban on credit card surcharging. — Bloomberg
