RBA Confirmed: 72 days until card surcharges are banned. Check you're on the right rate →
The RBA surcharge ban is now in effect. Check you're on the right rate →
It is not a simple yes or no, and the position is changing. The RBA’s surcharge ban does not cover American Express, so on the RBA’s rules alone Amex sits outside the regulation, and the RBA has flagged a separate review of three-party networks. However, major payment providers including Tyro and Eway have said they will remove Amex surcharging from their platforms on 1 October 2026, with Eway reporting that American Express has separately announced its own surcharging will end from the same date. In practice, most businesses should expect Amex surcharging to end alongside Visa, Mastercard and eftpos, so if Amex is a meaningful share of your card mix, confirm the position directly with your payment provider before October.
Last updated: 2 July 2026
The RBA’s surcharge ban applies only to the designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks. American Express and other three-party networks are not covered by the RBA regulation, so on the RBA’s rules alone, Amex sits outside the change. The RBA has said it will consult separately on non-designated networks including Amex, a review the RBA has planned for mid-2026. So the starting point is clear: the RBA has not itself prohibited Amex surcharging.
The picture does not stop with the RBA. The reform works by the RBA lifting its prohibition on card networks imposing no-surcharge rules, which means non-designated networks like Amex are now free to introduce their own no-surcharge rules if they choose. Eway reports that in early June 2026 American Express announced surcharging will no longer be permitted on Amex card payments in Australia from 1 October 2026, as a separate change from the RBA regulations. Separately, Tyro has said it will automatically remove Tyro-managed surcharging on eftpos, Mastercard, Visa and American Express transactions on 1 October 2026. These are reported statements from those providers and from Amex rather than RBA rules, but for most businesses the practical effect points to the same date.
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Putting it together, most businesses should expect Amex surcharging to end alongside Visa, Mastercard and eftpos on 1 October 2026, even though the RBA regulation itself does not cover Amex. Any surcharge you do apply before then should still not exceed your cost of acceptance for that card, and you cannot relabel a card surcharge as an administration, service or handling fee, which is prohibited under the Australian Consumer Law. If American Express is a meaningful share of your card mix, confirm the position directly with your payment provider before October, since how and when Amex surcharging is switched off is set through your provider’s platform and the network’s scheme rules.
Sources: RBA Conclusions Paper media release (mr-26-10) · ACCC card surcharges guidance · Eway: RBA reform response · Tyro: surcharge ban confirmed.
Information current as at 2 July 2026.
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