Consultation Paper Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging July 2025

Contents

• Glossary of Key Terms
• Executive Summary
• 1. Background
• 2. Surcharging
• 3. Interchange Fees
• 4. Transparency of Wholesale Fees
• 5. Scheme Fees
• 6. Transparency of Merchant Fees
• 7. Least-cost Routing of Debit Card Transactions
• 8. Policy Options for Consultation
• 9. Next Steps
• References
• Appendix A: Questions for Stakeholders
• Appendix B: International Comparison of Card Surcharging and Interchange Frameworks
• Appendix C: Further Details on the Issuer Cost Study
• Appendix D: Draft Standards
  • Draft Standard No. 1 of 2016
  • Draft Standard No. 2 of 2016
  • Draft Standard No. 3 of 2016

© Reserve Bank of Australia 2025.
For the full copyright and disclaimer provisions that apply to this publication, see https://www.rba.gov.au/copyright.

ISBN 978-1-7637270-4-5