The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has released a new Consultation Paper as part of its ongoing Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging, with potential reforms that could significantly reduce the cost of card transactions for real estate professionals and agencies.
The paper outlines the Payments System Board’s preliminary views following public consultation on the Issues Paper published in October 2024.
Among the proposed reforms are:
1. Abolishing card payment surcharges
The RBA is proposing the removal of surcharging on eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa card payments.
“Consumers currently pay around $1.2 billion in card surcharges each year,” the RBA stated. “Surcharging is no longer achieving its intended purpose of steering consumers to make more efficient payment choices: avoiding surcharges has become harder as cash usage has declined, businesses are increasingly charging the same surcharge rate across debit and credit, and there are significant challenges with enforcing the current surcharging rules.”
The Board argues that eliminating surcharges would simplify card payments, improve transparency, and enhance competition across the system.
For real estate businesses, many of whom charge tenants or buyers for card payments on rent, bonds or deposits, this would mean a forced rethink of how those costs are recovered, if at all.
2. Lower caps on interchange fees for merchants
The RBA is also looking to reduce the cap on interchange fees (what businesses pay to accept card payments) by an estimated $1.2 billion annually.
“Around 90 per cent of Australian businesses are estimated to be better off under the proposed policies,” the RBA said.
“The proposed reductions to interchange caps would benefit small businesses the most, as they tend to pay fees closer to the existing caps. Introducing caps on foreign interchange fees would help to lower fees for all businesses accepting international cards.”
This could provide substantial relief for agencies processing high volumes of transactions, particularly smaller, independent operators.
3. New transparency requirements for payment providers
To foster greater competition and informed decision-making, the RBA is proposing that large acquirers and card networks be required to publicly disclose their merchant fee structures.
“Improving transparency and competition will help all players better understand the fees they are charged and make it easier for businesses to shop around for a better deal,” the paper stated.
The RBA has invited stakeholders to submit feedback on the proposed options and draft standards by 26 August 2025.
“The RBA will draw on this feedback to finalise reforms that are in the public interest in line with its objectives of a safe, competitive and efficient payments system,” the paper notes. “The RBA intends to publish these conclusions and an implementation timeline for any regulatory steps by the end of the year.”
Real estate agencies, particularly those handling a high volume of payments, are encouraged to review the consultation paper and consider making submissions to help shape final policy settings.
