Westpac cuts merchant payment fees ahead of Australian surcharge ban

Westpac has announced a reduction in payment acceptance fees for its business customers, effective October 1. The bank is lowering its flat transaction rate for EFTPOS terminals and PayWay from 1.2% to 0.79%. Additionally, rates for EFTPOS Air and OnlinePay customers will decrease from 1.4% to 1.25%.

These fee cuts come ahead of a regulatory ban on surcharging by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The ban will prevent businesses from passing card payment costs directly to customers. Westpac estimates that for a small business with monthly transactions of approximately $20,000, these changes could result in savings of roughly $80 per month, or nearly $1,000 per year.

Paul Fowler, Westpac’s chief executive of Business & Wealth, stated that the reduction aims to help small businesses manage the transition as they prepare to absorb higher costs following the end of surcharging.