Preparing your business for end of card surcharging
About the end of card surcharging and why it matters
Starting Thursday 1 October 2026, card surcharging will no longer be permitted in Australia, following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision on card payment surcharges. This change applies to all businesses that accept cards (not just Square sellers), and applies to all debit, prepaid and credit cards on the eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks, including international cards.
The RBA has published answers to common questions about the removal of card surcharging on its website.
What this means for you:
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Automatic switch-off: If you currently surcharge, Square will automatically disable the card surcharge setting on your account on 1 October. You don’t need to take any action to turn it off.
If you don’t currently surcharge, there is no impact to the way you process payments.
Review your pricing: Since you will no longer be able to pass processing fees on to customers as a separate charge, you may want to review and adjust your menu or item prices to incorporate these costs into your business revenue.
Important dates
Date |
What happens |
|---|---|
Now to 30 September 2026 |
Card surcharging works as it does today. Nothing changes before 1 October. |
1 October 2026 |
Square turns off card surcharging on your account. Any card surcharge you’ve set up stops applying, and the surcharge line stops appearing at checkout and on digital receipts. |
Before you begin
Check your manual surcharge settings: If you built a card surcharge using a service charge, a sales tax or automatic tipping — rather than using Square’s card surcharge setting — Square can’t turn it off for you, so you will need to do that before processing a payment on 1 October. See Remove a surcharge yourself section below.
If you use a third-party point of sale with Square, check with your provider. Surcharging through a partner integration is controlled by that app, not by your Square settings.
Nothing about Square’s payment processing pricing changes on 1 October.
Laws and regulations: Sellers are responsible for how they display prices and describe charges to customers. We encourage you to review the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) guidance or consult a professional adviser about your circumstances.
Read more about The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is changing card surcharging. Here’s what it means for you.
If you have any questions on the above, please contact Square Support
Check what isn’t changing
While card surcharging won’t be permitted from 1 October, other charges that apply to every sale aren’t affected, however the customer pays.
That means:
Weekend and public holiday service charges can continue.
Booking fees and service fees can continue.
Card minimums: You can still decline card payments below a set amount. A fee that applies only to card payments below a threshold is a card surcharge, which can’t continue.
The ACCC sees other fee types – like handling fees or service charges – which apply only to some payment methods are probably card payment surcharges, even if a business doesn’t call them that. Learn more about surcharging on the ACCC website.
To view reporting on previously collected card surcharges, sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Reports > Sales summary > Service charges.
Preparing for 1 October
Step 1: Review your menu and item prices
While you’ll still pay a fee to process card payments after 1 October, this processing cost can no longer be added to a sale as a separate charge. Like any other cost of running your business, it can be built into the prices you set. Whether you change prices, and by how much, is up to you.
If you decide to adjust your prices, you can change several items at once:
Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Items & services (or Items & menus or Items & inventory) > Items > Item library.
Tick the box next to each item you want to change, or tick the box at the top of the column to select everything.
Click Edit items at the bottom of the page.
Click the Attributes drop-down menu and select the attributes you want to show.
Make your changes, then click Update variations.
You can edit up to 250 variations at a time. If you have a large catalogue, go to Item library > Actions > Export Library, edit the prices in a spreadsheet, then return to Actions > Import library to upload the updated file. You can also schedule price changes for a future date. If your Square plan has it, turn on Schedule for later and choose the date and time your new prices take effect.
Learn how to Bulk edit and update items.
Step 2: Update customer-facing materials
Signage, menus or website copy that still advertises a card surcharge will be describing a charge you’re no longer able to apply. Worth checking by 30th September 2026:
Signage at the counter, window, or on payment terminals
Printed and online menus
Your website and online booking pages
Automated messages, quotes and email templates
Custom messaging on receipts or invoices
Anything your team verbally says at the counter — ensure your staff know and understand the changes
Manually remove a surcharge prior to 1st October
If you set up your surcharge manually
If you created a card surcharge using a service charge, a sales tax or automatic tipping instead of using Square’s card surcharge setting, you’ll need to manually remove it before 1st October. Square can’t remove this for you.
To check and remove it, learn how to manage your manual surcharge settings.
If you want to stop surcharging before 1 October
While Square will turn surcharging off for you on 1 October, you also have the option to stop surcharges sooner should you wish:
Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Settings > Account & Settings > Payments > Service charges.
Select the card surcharge.
Click Delete card surcharge > Confirm.
If you’ve removed the surcharge, but it’s still appearing on your Square app, sign out of the app and sign back in. This refreshes your settings on the device.
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Disclaimer: This guidance is general in nature and does not constitute legal, tax or any other type of professional advice. If you are unsure about your obligations or where to find the relevant information, consider consulting with a professional.