All the ways your customers want to pay.
Payment options for businesses with the changes to card surcharging. Keep cards, bank transfers, PayTo and BPAY in your payment mix, and manage the cost of accepting payments a different way.
From 1 October 2026, card surcharges are removed.
Following reforms announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia, businesses can no longer add a separate surcharge line for card payments at checkout.
- You don’t have to stop accepting cards
- The way your customers pay doesn’t need to change
- There are still ways to manage the cost of accepting cards
Payments that flow.
ZenPay is the payments platform built for your industry, embedded in the software you already use, so getting paid is simple, not one more thing to manage.
Cards, bank transfers, PayTo and BPAY can all stay part of your payment mix. Your customers keep the choice they expect, while you manage the cost of accepting payments a different way.
Customers still expect to pay by card.
And for good reason. Keeping cards alongside other ways to pay gives customers the choice they’re used to, without giving up control over how you recover the cost of accepting them.
Interest-free periods
Help customers manage larger or unexpected costs.
Rewards and points
Something plenty of people value.
Faster, more reliable
Cards tend to settle faster and fail less often than some alternative payment methods.
Fraud protection
Cards can come with strong fraud protection built in.
What removing cards can cost you
Taking cards out of your payment mix can shift costs back onto your business in other ways:
- Late payments
- Lower completion rates on higher-value transactions
- Extra admin chasing failed payments
Give customers more choice.
A broad mix of payment methods, with cards alongside bank transfers, PayTo and BPAY, gives customers more choice and gives your business more flexibility in how you manage payment costs.
Some customers will always prefer to pay by card, while others may move to options like bank transfers or PayTo. Either way, the payments keep coming in.
Bank transferManaging the cost of accepting cards.
Surcharging is being removed, but there are still ways to manage the cost of accepting cards. Many businesses are taking one of two approaches:
Build it into your pricing
Include the cost of accepting payments in the prices you already charge.
A consistent service fee
Introduce a service fee that applies no matter how a customer pays.
One platform, cards included
ZenPay gives your business one platform to offer all the ways your customers want to pay. You keep the payment choice your customers expect. We handle making it work behind the scenes.
Book a demo and we’ll help you work out which approach fits your business, without limiting payment options for your customers.
Want the background? Read our article on the RBA decision to remove surcharging.
Quick answers.
What’s changing on 1 October 2026?
Card surcharges are being removed under RBA reforms. Businesses can no longer add a separate surcharge line for card payments at checkout.
Does this mean I have to stop accepting cards?
No. Cards remain one of the payment methods your customers expect and often use.
How can I manage the cost without surcharging?
Many businesses are building the cost into their pricing or adding a consistent service fee that applies regardless of payment method. Book a demo to see what fits your business.
Talk to us about the October changes.
ZenPay supports businesses with reliable payment infrastructure, local support and enterprise-ready security. Talk to us about your current payment mix, your options and what the October changes mean for your business.