Card surcharge ban 2026: how tradies should re-price their quotes

Australia is moving to ban card surcharges on everyday debit and credit card payments. The change has been announced for 1 October 2026, together with lower interchange caps that should cut what small businesses pay to accept cards in the first place. If you are a tradie who adds a card fee at payment, this is a small but real hit to margin - and the fix is to re-price before it lands, not after.

This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. The commencement date and exactly which card types are covered are set by the RBA and the Government and can change, so confirm the specifics with the ACCC and your accountant before you rely on them.

What is actually changing?

Right now, many businesses pass on the cost of accepting a card as a separate surcharge - usually about 1 to 1.7 percent. Under the ban, for the covered card types you will no longer be able to add that fee on top of the quoted price. The card cost does not disappear; it just becomes a cost you carry unless it is already inside your price.

| | Today | From the ban | | --- | --- | --- | | Card fee on a $10,000 job | ~$150 added at payment | ~$150 you absorb unless priced in | | Who sees it | Customer, as a surcharge line | Nobody - it is inside your price | | Your margin | Protected by the surcharge | Eroded unless you re-price |

Why tradies should care

A surcharge looks tiny per job, but it is pure margin. On a year of card-paid work it is the difference between quoting at your real rate and quietly giving away one to two percent. The tradies who get caught out are the ones who keep quoting the same way and only notice the gap at BAS time. The ones who do well re-price once, so the number the customer approves is the number they actually take home.

How to re-price before 1 October 2026

1. Ask your payment provider for your blended card fee (it varies by card mix). Call it roughly 1.5 percent if you are not sure.
2. Build that into your rates or add a small, already-included allowance so the quoted price already covers it. Do not add it as a line - that is the thing being banned.
3. Keep showing the maths. Customers do not mind paying a fair price; they mind surprise fees. A price that is complete and itemised reads as more trustworthy than a headline number plus a surcharge at the till.

Worked example

A $10,000 deck at a 1.5 percent blended card fee is about $150 of card cost. Instead of surcharging it, lift the quote so the $10,000 the customer approves already includes it - your headline moves to about $10,150, every line still shown, and your take-home is protected no matter how they pay.

Where Karven fits

Karven prices each job from your rates and costs and shows every line, so re-pricing for the surcharge change is a one-time update rather than a guess on every quote: change your numbers once and every new quote already carries the card cost in the headline price. Re-price a job and see the itemised total.