How much are you charging your customers?
From September 1 2017 there will be a limit on the amount you can charge your customers for paying by card.
What will the ban change?
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) will be enforcing a ban on excessive payment surcharges.
This means it will be illegal to impose payment surcharges on your customers that are higher than ‘cost of acceptance’. Cost of acceptance is what it costs your business to process a payment, such as bank fees and terminal cost, but excludes your own costs for wages and utilities. However, if you don’t impose any payment surcharges on your customers, the ban will have no impact on you.
What businesses need to do
You should have already received information from your bank, which will help you to calculate appropriate surcharges when accepting credit and debit card payments. If you haven’t yet received these statements you’re urged to follow up with your bank.
Are there exclusions?
Payment types that will not be affected by the ban include:
- BPAY
- PayPal
- Diners Club cards
- American Express cards issued directly by American Express
- cash
- cheques.
More information
- Head to ACCC website for more information on payment surcharges.
Original Article: https://www.business.gov.au/news/ban-on-excessive-payment-surcharges
Business.gov.au has a wealth of information for small business owners
© Commonwealth of Australia 2016 – Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
