Review of Retail Payments Regulation Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has undertaken a Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging (Review). This Review is part of the RBA’s regular review of its Retail Payments Regulation to ensure Australia’s payments system remains safe, efficient and competitive as technology, consumer preferences and industry practices continue to evolve.

The Review involved three phases relating to merchant card payment costs and surcharging:

• Phase 1 – release of an Issues Paper to identify key issues
• Phase 2 – release of a Consultation Paper to set out the proposed policy changes of the Payments System Board (PSB)
• Phase 3 – release of a Conclusions Paper to set out the PSB’s final decisions and package of policy reforms.

Since the start of the Review, the RBA has engaged closely with industry participants, consumer groups, merchants, payment service providers and other stakeholders to better understand emerging issues and opportunities in the payments ecosystem.

Last phase of the Review

Conclusions Paper

MARCH 2026

The last phase of the Review setting out the PSB's final decisions and package of policy reforms following an extensive public consultation process which sought stakeholder views on the PSB's proposed policy changes.

Review phases