Members are reminded that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) powers of enforcement over the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Payment Surcharges) Act 2016 come in to operation for all merchants from 1st September 2017.

Important merchant consideration include:

• The Act prohibits a merchant from passing on excessive surcharges to their customers, with the ACCC given authority to investigate and impose penalties for merchants who are in breach,
• A merchant is permitted to pass on to their customer, by way of surcharge, the cost of acceptance, typically merchant service fees, fees paid for the rental and maintenance of terminals and stationery,
• It is not permissible to surcharge in excess of the average cost of acceptance for that card type. All banks should now be providing a breakdown of the Cost of Acceptance by Card Type on their monthly merchant statements, to assist you in determining the appropriate surcharge level, and
• Card schemes included in this reform are Visa, MasterCard and Amex companion cards.

The member bulletin issued in June 2016 remains relevant and can be viewed here. Another useful resource is the ACCC’s advisory note on the “Excessive payment surcharge ban”.
If in doubt, or if you have any questions regarding this reform or how to determine a surcharge rate, please contact your merchant provider.

Best regards,

Dougal Hollis
General Manager – TAA (Vic)