Card fees by business · Pubs and bars
Card fees for pubs and bars
Updated
Pubs take a lot of card payments at modest tabs, with big weekends. At this volume a few tenths of a percent are thousands of dollars a year.
On the example numbers
At the example pub's volume, a 1.6% flat rate costs $28,800 a year and the cheapest published plan we compare, Westpac EFTPOS Now, costs $14,927. The pub used to collect about $21,600 a year in surcharges. At this size, published rates are where a negotiation starts, not where it ends.
The example business, at three sizes
Worked figures for a suburban pub taking $150,000 a month by card at a $28 average, with 88% of sales by card. Card mix: eftpos 38%, Visa/Mastercard debit 30%, Visa/Mastercard credit 25%, Amex 4%, Overseas cards 3%. 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 | $60,000 a month | $150,000 a month | $350,000 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac EFTPOS Now | $6,1490.85% | $14,9270.83% | $34,4350.82% |
| CommBank Smart Mini | $7,1280.99% | $17,8200.99% | $41,5800.99% |
| CommBank Smart terminal | $7,4821.04% | $18,1741.01% | $41,9341.00% |
| Worldline Move 5000 | $7,6581.06% | $18,6941.04% | $43,2201.03% |
| Square Reader (Free plan) | $11,5201.60% | $28,8001.60% | $67,2001.60% |
Every size in the table is far past every crossover: rental is a rounding error at $60,000 a month, so the ranking is simply the order of the rates. The difference between Square's 1.6% and Westpac's 0.79% is $5,371 a year for the smallest pub here and $32,765 for the largest.
Ask for custom or interchange-plus pricing
The example pub takes $1,800,000 a year by card. Priced at the RBA's average merchant fees for its card mix, that would cost about $13,096 a year. That average includes big retailers on special rates, but it shows how much room there is below the published flat rates.
Zeller offers a custom rate above $250,000 a year in card payments. (Zeller pricing, checked )
NAB offers negotiated pricing to merchants who meet its criteria. (NAB EFTPOS terminals, checked )
Stripe lists interchange-plus pricing in its custom package for large volumes. (Stripe pricing, checked )
Weekend and public holiday surcharges
Weekend and public holiday surcharges are outside the change, as they apply whatever the payment method. (Reserve Bank of Australia, checked )
A Sunday or public holiday surcharge on every tab can stay. A card surcharge on the same tab can't.
Use the fee data published from 30 October
Acquirers that process more than $10 billion a year must publish their merchant fees each quarter, broken down by merchant size and card type, starting by 30 October 2026. (RBA Conclusions Paper, checked )
Once those tables are out, you can see what businesses your size pay on average with your provider and its rivals, which is a stronger opening than a competitor's brochure.
Several terminals
Rental is charged per terminal. Four rented terminals at $25 a month are $1,200 a year before a single sale. The calculator assumes one; put the total rental for all your terminals in the monthly fees box.