Industry checklists for the 2026 card surcharge transition

Cafes and restaurants

1. Review POS surcharge settings, bill-splitting flows and table-service payment devices.
2. Update menus, counter signage and booking deposit wording if surcharge messaging changes.
3. Model weekend/public-holiday pricing separately from payment-cost recovery.
4. Ask the provider whether terminal rental and transaction fees can be reduced.

See also: cafes and restaurants guide.

Retail and ecommerce

1. Check in-store POS, ecommerce gateway, marketplace and buy-now-pay-later payment flows separately.
2. Review product-page, cart, checkout and receipt wording.
3. Model average basket size and card-present versus online mix.
4. Prepare customer-service scripts for price or payment-method questions.

See also: retail guide and ecommerce guide.

Tradies and mobile service businesses

1. Check deposits, progress payments, final invoices and call-out fees separately.
2. Compare card-present mobile terminal rates with invoice-payment/card-not-present rates.
3. Review quote templates and invoice payment terms before customer questions start.
4. Model whether material-heavy jobs need a different pricing response from labour-only jobs.

See also: tradies guide.

Salons and beauty businesses

1. Review appointment deposits, cancellation payments, packages, memberships and retail add-ons.
2. Model average ticket size because fixed per-transaction fees can matter on smaller payments.
3. Update booking-platform wording, service menus and staff scripts together.
4. Check whether online booking payments cost more than in-salon terminal payments.

See also: salons and beauty guide.

Professional services

1. Audit invoice payment links, client engagement letters and payment terms.
2. Estimate card-paid invoices separately from EFT/direct-deposit payments.
3. Decide whether card acceptance costs should be built into general pricing or managed through payment-method preference.
4. Coordinate wording with finance, reception and practice-management software settings.

See also: professional services guide.

Universal rollout checklist

• Assign an owner for provider negotiation.
• Set a date to review October 2026 readiness.
• Keep a copy of current surcharge rules, provider correspondence and FeeReady scenario exports.
• Re-run the model when new provider statements or published fee information becomes available.

Key citations

• ACCC card surcharges guidance
• RBA Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging
• FeeReady source notes and official links
• FeeReady methodology and limitations

Open the FeeReady calculatorRead the 2026 guide