Australians Lose Nearly $1 Billion a Year to Card Fees as Banks and Businesses Pass on Rising Costs

Australians lose $960 million a year to card surcharges as more businesses pass on payment processing fees to consumers
Small businesses struggle with rising costs and say card surcharges are needed to cover expenses
RBA has introduced a "least cost routing" initiative to reduce fees but take-up by merchants remains low
Banks accused of dragging feet on enabling least cost routing as they make more money from Visa/Mastercard
RBA threatens to mandate least cost routing if 80% of merchants don't adopt it by mid-2024