Federal government promises to crack down on card surcharges by 2026

The federal government says it is prepared to ban debit card surcharges from January 1, 2026, subject to a review underway by the Reserve Bank.

Transcript

00:00Well, it's more of a threat of a ban, Gemma. Basically, the government is saying it's prepared

00:06to ban these surcharges if the payment companies and the merchant banks don't do this themselves.

00:14The issue is, you know, when you go to pay with something with a debit card, sometimes

00:18you tap your mobile phone. Now, you're not always sure what the surcharge is. You're

00:22not sure whether it's being passed on by the business or whether it's come directly from

00:28the payment provider. So the government is saying that it will consider banning it by

00:332026, subject to review, if there is no change made by those companies themselves. The Assistant

00:41Treasurer, Stephen Jones, says that companies are actually saving money by not moving as

00:47much cash around anymore. And therefore, it's important that this change is passed on to

00:52consumers. It's harder and harder to get access to cash. So it's almost like people

00:58are being herded into using these sort of payment forms. But the savings involved, all

01:04the way down the line, aren't being passed on to consumers. And that's got to stop.

01:10This policy announcement, or threat of a policy announcement, is not getting a huge amount

01:15of love from the Coalition or the Greens. Bridget McKenzie has been on Nine this morning

01:21saying it's like fiddling around the edges while Rome burns. And we've also heard from

01:26Green Senator Sarah Hansen-Young, who says it doesn't really go far enough, considering

01:31the cost of living, pressures that people are facing.

01:35I don't think this call goes far enough. Actually, really, that rubber doesn't hit the road until

01:412026. I think people are struggling right now. And I am worried that the government's

01:46kind of squibbing it on credit cards. This is only for debit cards. A lot of people are

01:52paying for their groceries and their everyday items with their credit card and being slugged

01:58fees as well. I think we need to make sure it's the bank that covers the cost of this,

02:05not the consumer and not the small businesses.

02:09The government is also announcing it's going to give $2.1 million to the ACCC. And they

02:16released a consultation paper today which will allow people to have a look at this policy.

02:22But as I said, it is a threat. The government is hoping that there is movement from the

02:28payment providers to make some of these changes themselves. It is obviously a policy that's

02:34been announced in an attempt to show Australians that the government does care about the cost

02:39of living. But as you heard from the Greens and the Coalition, they're not sure it is

02:44really enough considering some of the hurt that people are feeling.