Card payment surcharges should be eliminated for debit and credit payments, the Reserve Bank has said, saving customers an estimated $1.2bn each year. Surcharges on Eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card payments would be eliminated from July 2026, while fees for businesses using card payments systems could also be lowered, under a new RBA proposal. Only one in 10 businesses impose surcharges but the RBA found cafes, restaurants and pubs are some of the most prolific users. Eradicating surcharges would go further than the Albanese government’s pre-election cost-of-living proposals in late 2024 to ban surcharges on debit cards only and strengthen investigations of businesses charging excessive card fees. “We’re prepared to ban debit card surcharges, subject to … safeguards to ensure small businesses and consumers can both benefit from lower costs,” the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said in October.