Banks cut rewards programs, free travel insurance amid surcharge ban - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Greg Hodge says the ban on surcharges will force him to increase the cost of swimming lessons. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)

After four decades as a Commonwealth Bank customer, Trevor Vienet is changing banks.

That is because CBA has wound up its association with the Qantas Frequent Flyer program in preparation for the upcoming changes to credit and debit surcharges announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

It is the lesser-known side effect of the changes that begin on October 1 because banks' revenue will drop as they reduce the amount they charge businesses to bank with them.

The Commonwealth Bank has introduced a new in-house rewards system called Yello, which Mr Vienet is not eligible for.

After decades with the Commonwealth Bank, Trevor Viénet is moving much of his banking elsewhere. (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)

"The [CBA] letter was, I'd call it a Dear John letter. It's like: 'You've had a long relationship, but it's all over,'" he said.

From Thursday, businesses will be banned from adding a surcharge to customers using electronic terminals to pay for goods on card networks including eftpos, Mastercard and Visa.

The cap on interchange fees paid by Australian businesses to banks for processing credit card fees will reduce from 0.8 per cent to 0.3 per cent, meaning businesses will pay lower fees but bank revenues will take a hit.

In preparation for these changes, the major Australian banks are increasing credit card fees, reducing reward program perks and cutting back on travel insurance inclusions.

"I was pretty angry … I've been a customer for 40 years, have held several accounts and three mortgages and paid those off," Mr Vienet said.

The surcharge ban is expected to save consumers about $1.6 billion and businesses $200 million in surcharge fees annually.

The changes to interchange fees — the fees banks charge businesses for using their systems — are estimated to reduce transaction fees from businesses to banks by about $910 million each year.

Sweeping changes across payment systems will start on October 1. (ABC Radio Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)

Canstar's data insights director, Sally Tindall, said it was clear the banks were not willing to wear the reduction in interchange fees.

"They're looking to recoup at least some of that loss … the consumer, in many cases, will end up paying for part of this ban at the minimum, but also small businesses."

Sally Tindall is the data insights director at Canstar. (ABC News: John Gunn)

But Australian Banking Assocation (ABA) chief executive Simon Birmingham said the changes implemented by the banks were expected.

"That was one of the things that the Reserve Bank called out as not only expecting to see, but basically wanting to see," he said.

The almost one in six businesses that surcharge have until October 1 to make the necessary changes, and some are worried.

Greg Hodge says the surcharge ban leaves his business tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)

Swim school owner Greg Hodge is working with his customers to change the way they pay for lessons, from credit card payments to bank transactions.

But if they can not switch to bank transfers, they may have to pay extra for each lesson.

Ahead of the RBA payment changes, Wes Lambert says many businesses are considering how they charge for goods and services. (ABC News: John Gunn)

He is not alone. Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association chief executive Wes Lambert said many businesses were considering their options.

"Many have indicated that they are going to increase their prices," he said.

"Many have [also] told us they are going to stop taking certain credit card types [and] many have said that they're going to go to cash only."

Ellis Connolly says the surcharging changes will not have an ongoing effect on inflation. (ABC News: John Gunn)

Despite the additional charging that may happen, the RBA's head of payments policy, Ellis Connolly, said he did not expect increases would have an "ongoing effect on inflation".

"In the end, the consumer was paying it either way, whether it was paid in a surcharge or whether it was paid in the end price," he said.

While some businesses may be forced to increase the prices of goods and services, others have argued it is not that simple.

Jared Wright says more than 500 councils across Australia will be impacted by the surcharge ban. (ABC News: John Gunn)

Central Coast councillor Jared Wright said for a council to increase fees, it had to go through a "multi-month process" involving public consultation.

He estimated the impact of the surcharge ban on his council, which is one of the largest in New South Wales, would be about $400,000 in lost fees, and was concerned about the possible flow-on effect to his constituents.

"That could buy you some events that you can put on for the community, you could put that into road renewal, you could fill potholes with that, you could potentially build a small footpath," he said.

One alternative for businesses to cut costs is using account-to-account (A2A) payments, which transfers money directly between bank accounts without card networks.

While the infrastructure has been in place for nearly a decade, data from payment provider Global Payments shows A2A use in 2025 made up only 5 per cent of Australian e-commerce and 3 per cent of in-store transactions.

"These [surcharge] changes allow both the industry, the ecosystem, the merchants, payment companies to really take advantage of the opportunity of thinking about payment choice," Global Payments Head of Integrated and Platforms APAC Masseh Haidary said.

Looking more broadly, Canstar's Sally Tindall said the changes were a good opportunity for a "strategic reset".

"For some people, it will be a matter of taking their card shopping and finding a card that better suits their finances," she said.

The surcharge ban and interchange fee changes take effect on the same day, and the peak body for small business has said it was concerned this did not give businesses a transition period to adjust pricing.

Skye Cappuccio is concerned small business will experience further financial pressures by the surcharge ban. (ABC News: David Sciasci)

"Small business owners are put in a position where they need to make decisions about how much they're going to cost their products before they've seen whether or not there will be a flow-on and a reduction in the charges," Council of Small Business Organisations chief executive Skye Cappuccio said.

The RBA's Ellis Connolly acknowledged these challenges.

"We thought the 1st of October was a reasonable balance point to give plenty of time since the end of March for implementation, but also getting the changes in place before we hit that peak trading season leading up to Christmas," he said.

Simon Birmingham says the changes banks have made to fees and rewards programs were expected after the RBA announcement. (ABC News: John Gunn)

The ABA's Simon Birmingham said the reduced cap was intended to put money back into the pockets of small businesses.

"Bigger businesses, the RBA acknowledged, had been able to negotiate lower interchange fees as part of their payments arrangements," he said.

In a statement to the ABC, a CBA spokesperson said: "We have been preparing our customers and the bank for the industry-wide changes.

"We have been communicating directly with merchants about the changes, what they mean and the steps they may need to take."