How will a surcharge ban affect franchise businesses?
posted on 28th July 2025
Retailers, hospitality providers and service providers across the breadth of the franchise sector will be faced with a hard choice when the proposed surcharge ban is implemented in May 2026. Will the ban affect the ability for franchisees to recoup costs when making across the counter sales, or drive more shoppers online if prices have to rise in-store? Do the changes address the root cause of the problems inherent in credit surcharges?
"The Government is planning to ban merchants from adding surcharges to most in-store card payments.
The change will save shoppers, but cost merchants, who will need to absorb the cost of offering contactless payments or pass it onto customers by hiking prices.
The change is expected to be made by May next year.
It will apply to payments made in-store using Eftpos, Visa and Mastercard but won’t apply to purchases made online or with foreign-issued cards, prepaid gift or travel cards, and cards issued by networks like American Express or UnionPay..."
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