ACCC Bans Excessive Credit Card Surcharges

A 2015 study conducted by Mastercard found that Australians pay approximately $1.6 billion annually in credit card surcharges. In response to this study and a high number of consumer complaints, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (“the Act”) has recently been amended to prohibit businesses from imposing excessive credit card surcharges on consumers.

The ban on excessive surcharges took effect for large merchants from 1 September 2016 and will apply to all businesses from 1 September 2017.