Card fee calculator · Surcharges ended 1 October 2026
What card payments really cost you, now you can't surcharge
Updated
Enter your monthly card takings, your card mix and your current rate. You get your true fee as one percentage and in dollars a year, the price rise that covers it, how it compares with the Reserve Bank’s averages, and which of 11 published plans is cheapest on your numbers.
Cheapest plans on these numbers
- Westpac (opens in a new tab)
1. Westpac EFTPOS Now
$3,244 a year · 0.90% · no upfront cost, $24.75 a month rental
Amex priced at the RBA average: this plan publishes no Amex rate.
- CommBank (opens in a new tab)
2. CommBank Smart Mini
$3,564 a year · 0.99% · $59 upfront
- CommBank (opens in a new tab)
3. CommBank Smart terminal
$3,918 a year · 1.09% · no upfront cost, $29.50 a month rental
- ANZ Worldline (opens in a new tab)
4. Worldline Move 5000
$3,994 a year · 1.11% · no upfront cost, $25.00 a month rental
Amex priced at the RBA average: this plan publishes no Amex rate.
- NAB (opens in a new tab)
5. NAB EFTPOS, Simple Pricing
$4,136 a year · 1.15% · no upfront cost, $25.00 a month rental
Amex priced at the RBA average: this plan publishes no Amex rate.
We compare 11 plans from 8 providers, not the whole market. Sorted by fees a year on your numbers, then first-year cost with hardware. No provider pays us for its place.
What changed on 1 October
Businesses can no longer add a card surcharge on eftpos, Mastercard or Visa, whether the card is debit, credit or prepaid, including cards issued overseas. American Express and UnionPay dropped surcharging on the same day, and PayPal follows on 5 October. (Reserve Bank of Australia, checked )
For the one business in six that surcharged, the cost of card payments now comes out of the margin unless prices rise. For everyone else the change is smaller but still real: lower interchange caps started the same day, and from 30 October the big acquirers have to publish what they charge. The rules in full, with dates.
The RBA estimates about 16 per cent of merchants surcharged card payments in 2024/25, and that consumers paid $1.6 billion of the $1.8 billion a year in card surcharges. (RBA Conclusions Paper, checked )
How the calculator works it out
Your fee is every percentage charge weighted by your card mix, plus any per-sale fee and monthly rental, divided by your card takings. A flat-rate plan gives the same answer whatever the mix. A plan with a different rate per card type doesn’t, which is why the mix matters.
The RBA average prices your mix at the average merchant fee for each card type in the Reserve Bank’s statistics for the June quarter 2026. It averages every merchant, including big retailers on special interchange rates, so a small business paying more than it isn’t necessarily being overcharged. Treat the gap as the size of the prize, not a verdict on your provider.
Average merchant fees in the June quarter 2026: eftpos 0.43%, Visa debit 0.56%, Mastercard debit 0.59%, Visa credit 1.00%, Mastercard credit 0.99% and American Express 1.36%. (RBA statistical table C3, checked )
The price rise is the increase on every sale that leaves you with the same money after fees, once the fee is charged on the higher price. Cash sales rise too, so the more of your sales are cash, the smaller the rise needs to be.
The example mix starts with two-thirds debit and 3% overseas cards, from the RBA’s merchant data: merchants that did not surcharge processed on average 66.1 per cent of card payments through debit cards; merchants that surcharged, 67.8 per cent. (RBA Conclusions Paper, checked )
The plans compared
Every in-person rate below comes from the provider’s own pricing page, checked on 3 October 2026. With the example numbers ($30,000 a month, $25 average sale), Westpac EFTPOS Now comes out cheapest. With yours it may not: rentals favour busy businesses and no-rental readers favour quiet ones.
Published in-person card plans
| Plan | In-person rate | Monthly | Upfront | Amex | Settlement | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac EFTPOS Now | 0.79% | $24.75 | $0 | Not covered by the 0.79% rate; needs a separate American Express agreement | Instant to a linked Westpac account after daily settlement | Westpac EFTPOS | Westpac (opens in a new tab) |
| CommBank Smart Mini | 0.99% | $0 | $59 | 0.99% covers Amex, subject to CommBank's approval | Same day, 365 days a year | CommBank Smart Mini | CommBank (opens in a new tab) |
| CommBank Smart terminal | 0.99% | $29.50 | $0 | 0.99% covers Amex, subject to CommBank's approval | Not stated on the fees page | CommBank EFTPOS fees | CommBank (opens in a new tab) |
| Worldline Move 5000 | 0.95% (2.8% overseas cards) | $25.00 | $0 | No Amex rate published | Not stated on the product page | ANZ Worldline Move 5000 | ANZ Worldline (opens in a new tab) |
| NAB EFTPOS, Simple Pricing | 1.05% | $25.00 | $0 | No Amex rate published | Same day to a NAB Business Everyday Account before 9:30pm AEST | NAB EFTPOS terminals | NAB (opens in a new tab) |
| SumUp Air reader | 1.4% | $0 | $49 | Amex accepted; one 1.40% reader rate is published, with no separate Amex rate | 1 to 3 business days | SumUp pricing | SumUp (opens in a new tab) |
| SumUp Solo | 1.4% | $0 | $79 | Amex accepted; one 1.40% reader rate is published, with no separate Amex rate | 1 to 3 business days | SumUp Solo | SumUp (opens in a new tab) |
| Zeller Terminal | 1.4% | $0 | $99 | Same 1.4% rate, no extra fee | Next business day to any bank account, free | Zeller pricing | Zeller (opens in a new tab) |
| Square Reader (Free plan) | 1.6% | $0 | $65 | Same 1.6% as Visa, Mastercard and eftpos | Next day, including weekends, free | Square pricing | Square (opens in a new tab) |
| Square Terminal (Free plan) | 1.6% | $0 | $329 | Same 1.6% as Visa, Mastercard and eftpos | Next day, including weekends, free | Square pricing | Square (opens in a new tab) |
| Stripe Terminal | 1.65% + 10c (3.5% overseas cards) | $0 | $89 + GST | Amex supported; Stripe publishes one domestic card rate | Not stated on the pricing page | Stripe pricing | Stripe (opens in a new tab) |
Tyro isn’t listed because its website blocked automated checks on 3 October 2026, so we couldn’t verify its current rates. We will add it when we can.
Raising prices without upsetting anyone
For a business on a 1.4% to 1.6% flat rate that takes nine sales in ten by card, the price rise works out at about 1.3% to 1.5%. On a $5.50 coffee that is about eight cents. Rounding to the nearest ten cents covers it with room to spare; some businesses put the whole rise on a few high-volume items instead of every price.
If you change a price, don’t mislead customers about the reason for the increase, and remove old surcharge notices from menus, websites, invoices and booking systems. (Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, checked )
Questions
Can I still surcharge American Express cards?
No, in practice. American Express isn't regulated by the RBA, but the RBA lists it among the networks that decided to remove surcharging from 1 October 2026, along with UnionPay and, from 5 October, PayPal. The RBA notes each network's rules can change, so check with your provider if you take another card type.
Can I still charge a weekend or public holiday surcharge?
Yes. The change only covers surcharges added because a customer pays by card. Weekend and public holiday surcharges, booking fees and service fees that apply whatever the payment method are outside it, according to the RBA.
Can I give a discount for cash instead?
Yes. The RBA says businesses can keep offering discounts for particular payment methods. A cash discount does the steering a surcharge used to do, without adding a fee at the counter.
Is it legal to raise my prices to cover card fees?
Yes, you set your own prices, and the RBA expects card costs to move into sticker prices. What you must not do is mislead customers about why prices went up. The small business ombudsman says so directly in its guidance on the change.
Will the lower interchange caps cut my fees automatically?
Only if your provider passes the cut on. Merchants on interchange-plus plans see it directly. On a flat-rate plan you pay whatever rate the provider sets. CommBank, for example, moved merchants on its 1.10% standard rate to 0.99% on 1 October, while Zeller, Square and SumUp still published flat rates of 1.4% to 1.6% when we checked on 3 October.