After the Card Surcharge Ban: Repricing and the Fees You Can Still Charge
Card surcharges ended in Australia on 1 October 2026. Here is how to work out what cards cost your business, reprice without guessing, and use a booking fee, deposits and cancellation fees the right way.
In this guide
For more than twenty years an Australian business could add a surcharge when a client paid by card. From 1 October 2026 it cannot, on eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or American Express. The cost of accepting a card did not go away. It moved from a line at the counter into your prices, your running costs, or a fee that every client pays.
This guide works through the numbers for a salon, spa or clinic: what a card payment costs you online and in person, three honest ways to handle it, how Bella's Appointment fee works, and what to update so no sign or message still mentions a surcharge.
What changed, in one minute
The Reserve Bank removed surcharging on the three networks it regulates, eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, for credit, debit and prepaid cards. American Express and UnionPay did the same on 1 October 2026 and PayPal on 5 October. The card networks enforce it through payment providers, so terminals and online checkouts switched the option off on the day.
The change is about fees added because a client pays by card. The RBA's FAQ says it does not apply to weekend surcharges, public holiday surcharges, booking fees or service fees. Interchange caps dropped on the same day, which is why Stripe's Australian online rate fell to 1.65% + A$0.30.
Nothing to switch off in Bella
Bella never adds a processing fee to a client's payment. The Pass processing fees setting was removed on 1 October 2026, and receipts for payments taken while it was on still show the fee line they carried.
Work out what cards cost you
You do not need an exact figure, only a fair one. Card payments reach a salon or clinic in two ways, and they cost different amounts.
| Payment | Processed by | Cost to you |
|---|---|---|
| Online deposit, card on file charge, gift card, package or product bought online | Stripe, connected to Bella | Stripe 1.65% + A$0.30, plus Bella 1%. All in: 2.65% + A$0.30 |
| Card tapped on your own EFTPOS machine at the counter | Your terminal provider | Your provider's rate. Bella records it as Card (Manual) against the machine you name under Settings > Card terminals |
A month of online payments
A business that takes 50 online payments totalling A$3,000 in a month pays A$79.50 in percentage fees and A$15.00 in fixed fees: A$94.50, or about A$1.90 a payment. At the counter, A$10,000 of card takings on a machine charging 1.6% costs A$160. Your terminal statement has your own rate; Stripe's is on the receipt of any online payment in Bella.
Two single payments at the online rate: a A$100 deposit costs A$2.95, so A$97.05 reaches your account. A A$60 service paid in full online costs A$1.89.
Absorb, reprice, or a mix
- 1Absorb it. Card acceptance becomes a running cost like rent and product, and the lower interchange caps have already trimmed it.
- 2Reprice. Add the card cost to the service price and round up to the nearest dollar. Every client pays the new price, cash included, so it is a price change and allowed.
- 3A mix. Absorb it on cheap, quick services where a dollar shows, and reprice the longer ones.
| Service price today | Online card cost (2.65% + A$0.30) | Repriced, rounded up |
|---|---|---|
| A$60 | A$1.89 | A$62 |
| A$120 | A$3.48 | A$124 |
| A$250 | A$6.93 | A$257 |
You do not have to add the same amount to every service. Price each one on the time, product and skill it takes, with the card cost as one input. The salon pricing guide at /guides/salon-pricing covers the rest.
A booking fee that is allowed
A fee that every client pays, however they pay, is a booking fee, and booking fees sit outside the change. In Bella it is the Appointment fee under Settings > Booking policies: one fixed amount, with a name you choose, added once to every new appointment that includes a service.
- 1Go to Settings > Booking policies, open Appointment fee and switch it on.
- 2Enter the amount and a client-facing fee name. Name it for what it genuinely pays for. Bella refuses a name that describes a card or processing surcharge.
- 3If you are registered for GST, confirm whether the fee is taxable, then review the change summary and apply.
- •It applies to online bookings and to appointments your team creates, and it is the same for card, cash, gift card and client credit.
- •Clients see it inside the first advertised price on a service card, then as its own line on the booking summary, the receipt and the confirmation email.
- •Collect at booking takes the fee with the deposit. Non-refundable keeps it on a default refund. Both start off.
- •It is charged once per appointment, never per service or per guest, and Sales summary reports the number and value collected.
What a A$2 fee does
A A$2 fee on every appointment recovers the online card cost of a A$60 to A$80 service almost exactly (A$1.89 to A$2.42). On 300 appointments a month it brings in A$600, while a cash client pays the same A$2, which is what keeps it a booking fee.
Keep it the same for every payment method. Removing it for cash clients, or naming it as a card fee, turns it back into a surcharge.
Deposits and cancellation fees still protect you
Nothing about deposits, late-cancellation fees or no-show fees changed. A deposit is part of the price, paid early. A cancellation fee is a charge for a missed appointment, and it applies whatever card the client saved. Both are set under Settings > Booking policies, and Bella collects them online, from a saved card or at the counter.
The Stripe fee and Bella's platform fee come out of what you receive on those payments too, so a A$50 deposit reaches you as about A$48.37. The booking policies guide at /guides/booking-policy-strategy covers how much to ask for and when.
What to update
- •Your website and your booking page text, if either mentions a card surcharge.
- •Your price list and any signage at the counter.
- •Confirmation, reminder and policy messages under Settings > Automated messages, if you had written the surcharge into them.
- •Your prices, or the Appointment fee, if you decide to recover the cost that way.
The Small Business Ombudsman's checklist is the same: payment terminals, websites, invoices, menus and client-facing information.
Keep it honest
Three lines from the regulators cover it. A client should be able to see the total price before deciding to buy. A business must not mislead clients about the reason for a price rise. And a card surcharge cannot be renamed to get around the rules, as Stripe's own guidance puts it. A booking fee that every client pays, a weekend loading disclosed up front, or a plain price rise all pass that test.
This guide explains the change and what Bella does with it. It is not legal advice. The RBA, the Small Business Ombudsman and the ACCC publish the rules, and an accountant or adviser can check your pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I call it a service fee or an admin fee instead?
Only if every client pays it, however they pay. A fee that applies when a client pays by card is a surcharge whatever it is called. Stripe's guidance says a surcharge cannot be renamed to get around the rules, and the Small Business Ombudsman says a business must not mislead clients about the reason for a price rise.
Does the ban apply to online deposits and card on file charges?
Yes. It covers card payments wherever they are made, in person or online. Bella never added a surcharge of its own to those payments, and the Pass processing fees setting that let a business add one was removed on 1 October 2026.
Do I need to change anything in Bella?
No. There is no surcharge setting left to switch off. If you want to recover the card cost, raise your prices or add an Appointment fee under Settings > Booking policies, and update any booking page text or message that still mentions a surcharge.
Can I still give a discount for cash?
Yes. The Ombudsman's FAQ says a business can offer a discount for a payment method such as cash or PayID, as long as it is clearly displayed before the client buys and the client can see what qualifies and how much they save.
Key takeaways
- ✓From 1 October 2026 a surcharge for paying by eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or American Express is not allowed in Australia.
- ✓Booking fees, deposits, cancellation fees, weekend loadings and plain price rises are outside the change, as long as they are the same however the client pays and are disclosed up front.
- ✓Online payments through Bella cost 2.65% + A$0.30 (Stripe 1.65% + A$0.30 plus Bella 1%); in-person card costs follow your own terminal provider.
- ✓Bella never adds a processing fee to a client's payment, and the Appointment fee is the built-in way to recover the cost: one named fee, once per appointment, the same for every payment method.
- ✓Remove surcharge wording from your website, booking page, signage and messages, and do not rename a card fee.
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Last updated: 2026-10-07