Experts say practices will need to keep track of payments, fee structures and patient-facing information after Australia’s card surcharge ban goes live this Thursday. 

Under new regulations from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), businesses will no longer be able to add additional fees for payments made by debit or credit cards from 1 October. 

Businesses will still pay merchant fees, but how these costs are recovered without surcharging is at their discretion, says the Australian Competitor and Consumer Commission. 

Discounts can also be offered for other payment methods, such as cash, providing this is clearly disclosed and the full price is shown, while ‘buy now, pay later’ services fall outside of the ban.