Businesses finding workarounds to recoup surcharge fees banned by Reserve Bank
Australian businesses are struggling to adapt to new Reserve Bank reforms that ban credit card surcharging. Many small business owners are raising prices to compensate for the lost revenue, citing financial strain and administrative burdens.
Why it matters
The shift illustrates the tension between regulatory efforts to lower consumer costs and the operational realities faced by small businesses.
Sheridan Shaw is still figuring out what to charge her clients, now that she can no longer surcharge. ( ABC News: Patrick Stone )
Major reforms to the way banks and businesses can bill and surcharge for credit and debit transactions came into effect this week.
Some businesses are not aware while others are modifying their prices and looking at workarounds.
The reforms by the Reserve Bank kicked off on October 1.
Link copied Share Share article Despite the Reserve Bank's sweeping reforms on credit and debit card surcharging, which is meant to save customers about $1.6 billion annually, businesses are finding workarounds to recoup fees still paid to the banks.
While the cap on interchange fees paid from businesses to banks on credit card fees has reduced, there are still fees that can't be passed on to customers.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in