An extra fee on your receipt: check what it is and what you can do

A few extra cents appear when you tap your card, or a service fee turns up just before you pay. Before deciding whether a charge is wrong, check what triggered it and when the payment was made.

From 1 October 2026, new card-network rules will remove many card-payment surcharges in Australia. Other charges can remain. Knowing the difference gives you a clearer question to ask when the total is higher than you expected.

What changes in October?

eftpos, Mastercard and Visa will introduce no-surcharge rules from 1 October. The rules cover their credit, debit and prepaid cards, subject to applicable exceptions. The RBA changed its standards to allow these network rules, so this is a change implemented through card networks and merchant arrangements.

The card networks' consumer guidance says the change covers payments in shops, online and through cards stored in mobile wallets. It also covers overseas-issued cards used with Australian businesses. Different rules can apply when you buy from an overseas business.

American Express, JCB and UnionPay have also announced a no-surcharge position from 1 October. PayPal's change starts on 5 October 2026, according to its policy update. Check the payment method as well as the date.

Until 30 September, the current excessive-surcharge rules continue to apply to eftpos, Mastercard and Visa. A surcharge must stay within the business's cost of accepting that payment type. A fee charged during September is not automatically wrong just because October's rules are approaching.

Two receipts to compare

These examples use the same $24 purchase. They are original illustrations, not receipts from a real business. The first assumes a surcharge-free payment option is available and the card surcharge is properly disclosed and within the business's permitted acceptance cost. The second assumes the item price stays unchanged and no exception applies.

Receipt 1: before the change

Receipt 2: after the change

This is not a promise that your total bill will fall. Businesses still have payment costs and can reflect those costs in their overall prices. Compare the full amount you will pay, including any other charges that apply.

Follow the fee itself, rather than what merchants call it

1. Does it apply because you chose a particular card? Check the payment date, network and any applicable exception. A generic “service fee” label does not settle the question.
2. Does it apply because of the day? A restaurant or café's weekend or public-holiday surcharge can continue. It must be disclosed before you order, with the required menu notice at least as prominent as the most prominent menu price.
3. Is it a booking, delivery or other service charge? These are not automatically removed by the card changes. Check when the fee was disclosed and whether it is optional.

Unavoidable fees that can be calculated generally belong in the displayed total price. Restaurants and cafés have a specific exception for qualifying weekend and public-holiday surcharges. A fee that applies every day belongs in the minimum total price.

The ACCC warns that disguising a card surcharge as a different fee to avoid the new rules may be misleading. Ask whether you would pay the same fee with another accepted payment method.

Check exceptions before challenging the charge

Taxi payment surcharges remain a state and territory matter. Applicable laws or regulations can permit surcharges outside the network rules. For a taxi receipt, check with the relevant taxi regulator rather than assuming the ordinary retail rule applies.

Cash and PayID discounts can also continue. The full price without the discount must be displayed clearly and at least as prominently as any discounted price. A discount for one payment method does not itself mean another customer has been incorrectly surcharged.

What to ask the business

If you spot the charge before paying, ask the business to explain it and remove it if it has been added incorrectly. If you have already paid, keep your receipt and a record of the payment method. A photograph or screenshot of the displayed price may help explain what you saw.

You could say:

“Could you explain this extra charge? Is it for the payment method, or does it apply regardless of how I pay? If it was added incorrectly, could you remove it or refund the charge?”

If you follow up in writing, include the purchase date, the fee, what the business has already told you and the outcome you are asking for. The ACCC has a complaint-letter tool you can adapt.

Where to take an unresolved problem

• A card surcharge after the relevant change: raise it with the card network or the business's payment provider, if known. They enforce the network rules.
• A misleading price or unexplained fee: your state or territory consumer protection agency may be able to help with the dispute. You can also report misleading pricing to the ACCC, which uses reports for enforcement work but does not resolve individual complaints.
• A taxi surcharge: use your state or territory taxi regulator.

Start with the receipt, the date and the reason given for the fee. Those details help you ask for the right correction without having to work out every payment rule at the counter.

Keep an eye on everyday spending

For a broader view of your everyday transactions, download WeMoney to review spending across your connected accounts.

Sources

• RBA: Removal of card payment surcharges from 1 October 2026
• eftpos, Mastercard and Visa initiative coordinated by AusPayNet: FAQs for consumers
• PayPal Australia: Policy updates effective 5 October 2026
• ACCC: Card surcharges
• ACCC: Price displays
• ACCC: Contacting a business to fix a problem

Hero photograph: Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels. The people pictured are not examples of incorrect charging.