Card fees by business · Motels and B&Bs
Card fees for motels, B&Bs and holiday lets
Updated
Accommodation takes large payments, many on overseas cards and many by phone before the guest arrives. Those are exactly the payments where plans differ most.
On the example numbers
With 12% of takings on overseas cards, the example motel's cheapest plan we compare is Westpac EFTPOS Now at $6,231 a year. ANZ Worldline, at 2.80% on international cards, comes to $8,916, even though its domestic rate is lower than most.
The example business, at three sizes
Worked figures for a 20-room motel taking $60,000 a month by card at a $380 average stay, with 95% of sales by card. Card mix: eftpos 18%, Visa/Mastercard debit 27%, Visa/Mastercard credit 37%, Amex 6%, Overseas cards 12%. These are illustrative inputs, not an industry average; change them in the calculator to match your statement.
Fees a year for the example, by plan and monthly card takings
| Plan | $25,000 a month | $60,000 a month | $140,000 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac EFTPOS Now | $2,7700.92% | $6,2310.87% | $14,1440.84% |
| CommBank Smart Mini | $2,9700.99% | $7,1280.99% | $16,6320.99% |
| CommBank Smart terminal | $3,3241.11% | $7,4821.04% | $16,9861.01% |
| NAB EFTPOS, Simple Pricing | $3,5061.17% | $7,9941.11% | $18,2521.09% |
| Square Reader (Free plan) | $4,8001.60% | $11,5201.60% | $26,8801.60% |
Westpac ranks first at every size here, but that rests on its 0.79% applying to overseas cards, which its page implies ("all eftpos, Mastercard, Visa and UnionPay transactions") without spelling out. With 12% of takings on overseas cards, every extra percentage point a provider charges on them costs this motel $864 a year at $60,000 a month. Ask before you sign.
Overseas cards cost more to accept
Foreign-issued cards account for around 3 per cent of total card transactions in Australia but about 20 per cent of the interchange fees merchants pay. (RBA Conclusions Paper, checked )
Average merchant fees on international Visa and Mastercard credit cards were 2.98% and 2.92% in the June quarter 2026. (RBA statistical table C3, checked )
Flat-rate plans that charge every card the same, such as Zeller, Square and SumUp, don't charge extra for them, which makes them relatively better for a motel than for a café. CommBank's and Westpac's pages list the networks their rates cover without separating overseas cards, so confirm how overseas cards are priced before you sign.
What changes in April 2027
A 1.0% interchange cap on foreign-issued cards starts on 1 April 2027, and merchant statements must split domestic from foreign cards and in-person from online payments. (RBA Conclusions Paper, checked )
The cap lowers what providers pay on overseas cards. Whether your rate falls depends on your plan, and the new statements will show you.
Deposits taken by phone
A deposit keyed in from a phone booking is priced at the provider's phone-order or keyed rate, not the terminal rate:
- Zeller, phone and mail orders (moto): 1.7% including GST (Zeller pricing, checked )
- Square, keyed-in, card on file and virtual terminal: 2.2% (Square pricing, checked )
- Stripe, online, domestic cards: 1.65% + 30c including GST (Stripe pricing, checked )
Booking fees
Booking fees that apply regardless of the payment method are not card surcharges. (Reserve Bank of Australia, checked )
A flat booking fee on every reservation can stay. A fee added only to card bookings has to go.