From today, businesses can no longer add a card payment surcharge to transactions.
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JORDAN TOWNROW
Your cup of coffee might have been a few cents cheaper this morning, and while it might not sound like much, the end of card surcharges is predicted to save Aussies $1.6 billion a year.
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But not everyone’s happy.
Jess Fanning, who owns Peggy Coffee, a mobile cafe based in Echuca East, said while she understood why customers may view the removal of the surcharge as a positive, for small business owners it was anything but.
From today, businesses can no longer charge an extra fee on payments made with Visa, Mastercard, American Express or debit cards.
The surcharges were used to encourage alternate payment methods such as cash or to compensate for money businesses lost to merchant and bank fees.
While the RBA capped interchange fees businesses pay on card transactions, Ms Fanning said the change ultimately meant another cost for her business to adsorb.
Jess Fanning, the owner of Peggy Coffee, says while she understands why the change may be viewed as a positive, it is proving a costly headache for businesses.
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“Honestly it feels like a hit to small business,” she said.
“Losing out on one per cent doesn’t seem like much, but it really adds up over the day and I think unfortunately we’ll have to raise our prices.
“I just hope customers understand if businesses are increasing prices, it’s not about making money, it’s about covering rising costs that we’re already struggling to meet, and keeping our doors open.”
The RBA’s changes won’t impact weekend or public holiday surcharges, and businesses are still able to offer a discount to encourage cash or PayID transactions.
