Businesses would be banned from applying surcharges to all credit and debit card transactions from July next year under a Reserve Bank proposal that could save Australian consumers close to $1.2 billion annually but which business representatives have warned could lead to job losses.
On Tuesday, the RBA released its review into card surcharges, proposing a suite of reforms aimed at lowering fees for both consumers and merchants, including a lever to force credit card companies and financial players – involved higher up the payments chain – to publish details of the fees they impose on businesses.
The RBA’s proposal to stop fees on credit and debit card transactions, which will now be subject to an industry consultation window, goes further than reforms the Albanese government had flagged last year, when it said it wanted to ban surcharges on debit cards.
