Technology Slice Blog

Credit Card Surcharge Laws Australia - A new ban stops businesses from charging payment surcharges on credit, debit and prepaid card payments that are excessive. The ACCC will investigate consumer complaints and take enforcement action where necessary. When you pay a business using certain payment types, for example a credit card, the business incurs costs for processing the payment. These costs are usually paid by the business to its bank. Some businesses include these costs in the price they charge for their goods or services. Others pass the costs on as a payment surcharge. A payment surcharge is an additional amount charged by a business when you pay for goods or services by one form of payment (e.g. a credit card) rather than another (e.g. cash). On 25 February 2016 the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Payment Surcharges) Act 2016 became law. It inserted a new part into the CCA banning excessive payment surcharges and provided new powers for the ACCC. The ban is found ...