You shouldn’t be charged a fee to pay with your own money

We should be able to trust that the price advertised is the price we’ll pay at the checkout.

As bank branches and ATMs become harder to find, more and more Australians are being slugged with surcharge fees for paying by card. These surcharges can vary greatly, and two in three people say businesses often apply card surcharges without telling them. 

Needless extra expenses are the last thing people need during a cost-of-living crisis. It’s time to stop big businesses like Mastercard, Visa and the banks gouging both consumers and small businesses through unfair card surcharges. That’s why we’re calling on the Government to make our payments system fairer, by ensuring that:

• Paying with your own money is free, whether it’s by cash or debit card
• If you’re paying by card, it’s clear at the checkout how much will be taken out of your account
• There’s an upper cap on credit card surcharge fees
• Small businesses are empowered to negotiate better deals on payment processing costs

The Government has said it’s prepared to ban surcharges for paying by debit card, but to make sure this change gets over the line we’ll need to show that there’s strong public support. Sign the petition to tell the Government that you expect it to ensure that we can all fairly and safely use our own money now.