Card fees by business · Cafés
Card fees for cafés, now the surcharge is gone
Updated
Cafés live on small sales: $5 coffees and $15 brunches, mostly tapped on debit cards. That shape decides which plan is cheapest, and it makes a per-sale fee far dearer than it looks.
On the example numbers
For our example café, Westpac EFTPOS Now is the cheapest plan we compare: $3,711 a year against $6,720 on a 1.6% flat rate. If you stay on 1.6%, covering card fees in prices takes 1.49%, which is 8 cents on a $5.50 flat white.
The example business, at three sizes
Worked figures for a café taking $35,000 a month by card at a $14 average sale, with 92% of sales by card. Card mix: eftpos 42%, Visa/Mastercard debit 28%, Visa/Mastercard credit 24%, Amex 4%, Overseas cards 2%. 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 | $15,000 a month | $35,000 a month | $70,000 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac EFTPOS Now | $1,7600.98% | $3,7110.88% | $7,1250.85% |
| CommBank Smart Mini | $1,7820.99% | $4,1580.99% | $8,3160.99% |
| CommBank Smart terminal | $2,1361.19% | $4,5121.07% | $8,6701.03% |
| Worldline Move 5000 | $2,1061.17% | $4,5141.07% | $8,7291.04% |
| Square Reader (Free plan) | $2,8801.60% | $6,7201.60% | $13,4401.60% |
A quiet café at $15,000 a month sits almost exactly on the line between Westpac's EFTPOS Now and CommBank's Smart Mini: $1,760 against $1,782 a year. The crossover on this mix is about $13,967 a month. By $70,000 a month Westpac saves $1,191 a year over the Mini and $4,635 over Zeller. If winter takings drop well below summer's, the Mini's lack of rental is worth more than one month's figures show.
Why small sales punish per-sale fees
A fixed fee per sale is tiny on a big bill and large on a coffee. At a $14 average, 10 cents a sale adds 0.71% on top of the percentage. Stripe Terminal charges exactly that, so a café on it pays about 2.4% in all, more than any other plan here.
Stripe's in-person pricing: 1.65% + A$0.10 for domestic cards. 3.5% + A$0.10 for international cards. (Stripe pricing, checked )
Every other plan we compare charges a percentage only, so for a café the comparison comes down to the rate and any monthly rental.
Tap-and-go debit and the cheaper network
Most café sales are contactless debit taps. Many debit cards carry two networks, eftpos and Visa or Mastercard, and for merchants the eftpos route is usually the cheaper one.
Average merchant fees in the June quarter 2026: eftpos 0.43%, Visa debit 0.56%, Mastercard debit 0.59%. (RBA statistical table C3, checked )
On a flat-rate plan you pay the same rate whichever network a tap goes through, so routing savings stay with the provider. They reach you only on a plan priced card by card, or if your provider cuts its flat rate.
NAB says its Simple Pricing may include Merchant Choice Routing, which sends contactless payments from multi-network debit cards through the eftpos network instead of Visa or Mastercard. (NAB EFTPOS terminals, checked )
Sunday and public holiday surcharges stay
Weekend and public holiday surcharges are outside the change because they apply whatever the payment method. (Reserve Bank of Australia, checked )
If you added 1.5% on cards and 10% on public holidays, keep the holiday surcharge and drop the card one. The holiday notice stays on the menu; the card notice comes off the counter, the menu and the online ordering page.
Counter terminal or phone reader
A café counter usually wants a terminal customers can tap without anyone handing over a phone. Ranked among standalone terminals only, the cheapest on the example numbers is Westpac EFTPOS Now at $3,711 a year, rental included. The no-rental phone readers suit a second till or a coffee cart better than the main counter.