Fears card payment surcharges ban could force practices to hike fees
While the Reserve Bank says most customers will not be fussed if advertised prices increase to make up the gap, the Australian Association of Practice Management warns that could be treacherous in general practice.
A ban on card payment surcharges that starts on 1 October could force GP practices to raise fees to compensate, the peak body for practice managers has warned.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made the decision last month to go ahead with the ban following a push by the Federal Government, which had argued that the surcharges made little sense when 75% of transactions were card based.
Such surcharges were first permitted more than 20 years ago to encourage customers to pay in ways that cost businesses less in transaction fees.
But the RBA’s analysis said, with businesses increasingly charging a flat surcharge rate for all cards and customers moving away from cash, the rule had become illogical.
