Credit Card Surcharges Are Ending: Are You Ready?

Volunteer committees must understand the upcoming Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surcharge ban, effective 1 October 2026. Clubs and associations in Australia will no longer be allowed to pass credit card transaction fees onto members, necessitating a review of membership fees and payment settings.

In March 2026, the RBA announced a ban on credit card surcharges for Visa, Mastercard, and EFTPOS transactions. Alongside the ACCC, the RBA is introducing these changes to make pricing simple and transparent for all Australians. The core idea is straightforward: the advertised price must be the price charged, irrespective of the payment method.

This reform aims to reduce the cost of living, with the RBA expecting it to save Australian consumers $1.6 billion and Australian businesses $910 million in surcharge fees per year. For your members, this means that the next time they buy $100 worth of groceries or a $100 club membership, they won’t be hit with a 0.5%–1.5% surcharge at the checkout.

Here is what your membership organisation needs to know and how you can prepare.

In This Article, We Will Cover:

• The Upcoming Legislation: A breakdown of the Reserve Bank of Australia and ACCC’s mandate to ban credit card surcharges and enforce transparent, upfront pricing by 1 October 2026.
• The Impact on Club Finances: How the new laws will affect your association and why your committee must choose between absorbing transaction fees or adjusting your baseline prices.
• Preparing Your Member Jungle Settings: Three actionable steps you can take today, including updating your Service Fees Type and baseline prices, to ensure you are compliant.
• Next Steps for Your Committee: Immediate planning strategies you should table at your next meeting to ensure your club remains compliant and financially stable.

How Will The Changing Card Surcharge Laws Affect My Club Or Association?

We are early in the process, but the hard fact is that from 1 October 2026, you can no longer pass transaction fees directly on to your members as an added checkout surcharge.

Currently, when processing online payments through Member Jungle, service fees and gateway charges apply. Previously, clubs had the option to let members pay this surcharge on top of the base price. Moving forward, these transaction fees must be incorporated into your advertised prices or absorbed into your total profit.

For example, an event ticket previously advertised at $10 plus a surcharge must now be advertised upfront at $10.10. Alternatively, your committee can choose to absorb the cost, keeping the price at $10 but accepting a slight reduction in profit. 

Either way, the end result must be that what a member pays for something must not change, no matter how they pay for it. 

How To Prepare My Club For The Changes To Credit Card Surcharge Laws?

To remain compliant between now and 1 October 2026, you will need to advertise the exact upfront price a member will pay. We highly recommend making these changes early so your club is not left out of pocket when the ban takes effect.

Take the following three steps to update your Member Jungle portal today:

1. Remove Payment Surcharges: Navigate to your Payment Settings (located within most individual modules) and remove any existing Payment Surcharges you have added to your Payment Methods.
2. Update your Service Fees Type: Go to Organisation Settings → Payment and Gateway Setup and change your Service Fees Type from Pass On to Absorb.
3. Increase your baseline prices: Adjust your membership, event, and store prices to cover the fees and surcharges you previously passed on to members. Doing this first ensures your club doesn't lose money.

Note: Member Jungle will not enforce these changes on your behalf, but we strongly suggest implementing them to ensure your organisation is compliant. If your committee is unsure of the best financial approach, please seek independent legal or accounting advice.

Next Steps for Your Committee

As these laws approach, your committee needs to formally plan how your organisation will adapt. You need to decide whether to keep your current prices and absorb the fees, or raise your prices to maintain your margins. It would be a good idea to table this issue at your next meeting.

If you want details on how to change your payment settings to ensure you absorb your fees rather than pass them on, please read Payment Settings. 

For much more information on the change itself, have a look at the RBA's Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging – Conclusions Paper, or the media release Ending card surcharges to help with the cost of living by the Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers MP.