Forum Discussion

Slimflow's avatar
Slimflow
Contributing Cover User
21 days ago

Card Surcharges

As of 1st of October will MYOB be charging us the 1.8% Credit Card surcharge + the .25c transaction fee or will it be removed as per the RBA's recommendation?

 

37 Replies

  • IH293's avatar
    IH293
    Contributing User

    I understand MYOB's 1.8% + 25c covers more than just interchange fees, but I think we're only hearing half the story here.

    From 1 October the RBA is also reducing interchange fees, specifically to reduce card acceptance costs for merchants. They've estimated these changes will save merchants around $1.2 billion per year.

    MYOB is very clear that we can no longer pass the 1.8% fee onto our customers, but there's been very little said about the reduction in MYOB's own underlying card processing costs.

    So the question is pretty simple – how much of that saving will MYOB be passing onto us through a reduction in the 1.8% + 25c fee?

    Telling businesses to adjust our pricing to absorb the fee, without answering that side of the equation, isn't really good enough.

    • HLGROUP's avatar
      HLGROUP
      Experienced User

      Agree 100%. We will be cancelling this payment facility. Totally unacceptable MYOB isn't being transparent about what they will then charge it's current customers for this payment service. It's not like we don't pay enough for the actual software monthly.......

      • LCrowhurst's avatar
        LCrowhurst
        Trusted Cover User

        agree....we will be cancelling too from October....as you mentioned we pay enough in fees nd when our clients do pay us with the Credit card facility we have to wait days to receive the money and i cant edit the online payment description.....

  • Yes will also be cancelling my credit card facility with MYOB. I dont understand how if credit card fees are being banned we as a customer are still getting charged but just calling it something else? I'm considering no longer offering a credit card payment option or raising prices to cover costs and then offering a discount for direct payment or cash.

    • Mike_MYOB's avatar
      Mike_MYOB
      Community Manager

      Hi LeeSupplies​ and all on this thread
      We have just posted an updated for all in the forum here. In particular, this links out to a landing page we have created on this change, and you have the option to register for an upcoming webinar that we will be running for our customers as well
      Please take a look here when you have the time

      • TamaraDee's avatar
        TamaraDee
        Experienced Cover User

        Hi Mike, 

        I am stuck with the wording...For businesses, this means card fees can no longer be passed on to customers. Are we not your customers? Isnt MYOB a business? If you can clarify as the link doesn't. or I am missing it.

  • AmandaMYOB's avatar
    AmandaMYOB
    MYOB Moderator

    Hey Slimflow​ 

    MYOB will be updating our invoicing feature to help keep your payment experience in line with the new guidelines.

     

    The 1.8% + 25c is MYOB's online payment transaction fee, it's what we charge to process payments made online, and that will still be in effect. What is changing from 1 October 2026, is the ability for a business to pass that fee on to a customer as a surcharge.

     

    MYOB will share more product specific guidance through August and September so you know what to expect in your product. You can find updates here.

    • henry_'s avatar
      henry_
      Experienced User

      This is frankly outrageous, and I struggle to understand how this can possibly be considered a fair outcome for small businesses.

      MYOB has confirmed above that the 1.8% + 25c fee will remain because, in MYOB's words, it is an "online payment transaction fee" charged to us for processing the payment.

      If MYOB is permitted to charge us, its customer, a 1.8% + 25c transaction fee for processing a payment, why should we not be permitted to recover that exact transaction cost from our own customer when their choice of payment method is what directly causes us to incur it?

      Calling MYOB's charge a "transaction fee" rather than a "surcharge" does not make the cost disappear. It is still a direct and identifiable cost incurred by the business as a result of that particular transaction.

      The outcome therefore seems completely contradictory. MYOB can charge its customer a transaction fee to cover the cost of providing a payment service, but its business customers are expected to absorb that same fee and are prohibited from passing the direct cost of the transaction on to their customers.

       

      For businesses processing large invoices, 1.8% is substantial. For example, a $10,000 payment would cost the business $180 + 25c simply because the customer elects to pay through MYOB Online Payments. Why should that cost automatically become the business owner's responsibility?

       

      If businesses are prohibited from recovering card processing costs from the customers who generate them, then payment providers should not be permitted to continue imposing percentage-based transaction fees on businesses under effectively the same rationale.

       

      At the very least, I would like MYOB to explain the logic behind this distinction and what it intends to do about the 1.8% + 25c fee from 1 October. Simply telling small businesses that the fee remains but we are no longer allowed to recover it from the customer is an extraordinarily poor outcome for MYOB's business customers.

      • Slimflow's avatar
        Slimflow
        Contributing Cover User

        Well said Henry! Couldn't have said it any better myself. I will be cancelling my online payment function from the 1st of October. Our customers are the only ones inconvenienced by this ludicrous move from MYOB as they will not be able to pay by Credit Card & will have to pay via bank transfer! I will also be checking out XERO to see if they can offer us a better service!

    • Slimflow's avatar
      Slimflow
      Contributing Cover User

      This is not the answer I was looking for. The "online transaction fee" you will be continuing to charge us is simply a credit card surcharge the government is trying to abolish. I will be cancelling my online payment function from 1st October as we refuse to pay MYOB any more fees!!

    • Louisa33's avatar
      Louisa33
      Contributing Cover User

      I understand the guidelines mean that we can no longer pass on the fee/surcharge post October 1st. But shouldn't the 1.8% be reduced given that MYOB's wholesale interchange fees will going down? If MYOB keep it at 1.8% we will definitely be turning this feature off. Please tell us now as invoices being sent out now may well be getting paid in October. 

      • Mike_MYOB's avatar
        Mike_MYOB
        Community Manager

        Hi Louisa33​ , the fees associated with online payments (1.8%+25c) are being reviewed as part of the changes, but I do not know if/what the change will be.
        I would recommend registering for the webinar as we might know more by then and be sharing during the webinar.
        You can find the webinar registration details here to save your spot.

  • geoeng's avatar
    geoeng
    Contributing Cover User

    I agree that MYOB are only addressing one side of the story regarding the government changes.  I also wanted to check if other companies are already having to pay the surcharges even though I have clicked the option of "customer to pay surcharge" and it is not yet the 1st of October. I submitted a help request almost a month ago but no reply.

     

    • Mike_MYOB's avatar
      Mike_MYOB
      Community Manager

      Hi geoeng​ , can you please clarify your question a bit further? I would like to answer or address as much as I can.

      Because this change doesn't take effect until the 1st October, the option is still in the software for you to surcharge the fee to the person paying your invoice.

      Let me know how I can help, thanks

      • geoeng's avatar
        geoeng
        Contributing Cover User

        Hi there,

         

        For online payments, I currently only allow for credit card payments with the surcharge paid by the customer.  I did allow for BPAY payments but then I realised that I pay the surcharge so I disabled that option. 
        I just checked a recent payment made by credit card and my accounts assistant told me that we that we paid the surcharge.  But I have now checked and that was not the case.  So all good until 1 October I guess.  But I agree with others, I will be disabling online payments after the 1st October, especially if MYOB are still charging thier customers "transaction fees".  It is hard enough for small businesses but of course the banks and large companies are OK with thier transaction fees. 

  • AmandaMYOB's avatar
    AmandaMYOB
    MYOB Moderator

    Hi everyone!

    We understand how this could be confusing. The short version is that the change affects how businesses can pass on card payment costs; it doesn't mean the cost of providing payment services disappears.

     

    The RBA has announced that, from 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to apply surcharges to domestic payments made via eftpos, Visa or Mastercard. American Express has also announced it will remove surcharging from the same date. Payment providers like MYOB now need to implement these changes across the payments ecosystem.

     

    The fees associated with online payments help support payment processing, as well as the technology, security and other services that support the payment experience. The change doesn't remove those costs; rather, it changes how businesses can recover them from customers.

    The RBA's reforms are also intended to reduce some of the underlying costs associated with accepting certain card payments. We're reviewing what that means for our pricing and will share more once our approach is confirmed.

     

    If you currently surcharge, it may be worth reviewing how payment costs are managed within your broader pricing and operating model.

     

    We'll share more practical guidance and scenarios in the coming weeks. You can also register for our upcoming webinar here.

    Please note: this is general information only, not legal or financial advice.

    • henry_'s avatar
      henry_
      Experienced User

      Thanks Amanda, but I don't think this addresses the fundamental concern being raised here.

      MYOB is telling businesses that we can no longer directly recover the cost of a customer's chosen payment method from that customer, while MYOB itself continues to charge businesses a transaction fee for providing that payment service.

      Suggesting that businesses instead recover these costs through our "broader pricing and operating model" effectively means spreading the cost across all of our customers, including those who pay by bank transfer and do not generate an MYOB Online Payments fee in the first place. How is that a fairer or more transparent outcome?

      If MYOB's costs of providing Online Payments remain legitimate costs that MYOB is entitled to recover from its customers, then surely you can understand why small businesses are questioning why the direct cost we incur from that same transaction should simply become ours to absorb.

      You mentioned that MYOB is currently reviewing what these reforms mean for its pricing. Can you please clarify whether this means the current 1.8% + 25c Online Payments transaction fee is under review and may be reduced from 1 October?

      I think that is the question many MYOB customers would like a clear answer to before deciding whether continuing to offer MYOB Online Payments remains commercially viable.

    • Slimflow's avatar
      Slimflow
      Contributing Cover User

      Hi Amanda,

       

      I don't find this confusing at all.

       

      MYOB have told us we can't pass these charges onto our customers, however, MYOB can still pass these charges onto their customers......that will be us! It's pretty black & white to me.

       

      Your monthly subscription fees increase & change on a regular basis. "It may be worth reviewing how payment costs are managed within your broader pricing & operating model!"

       

      As of 1st October we will no longer be using  your online payments facility & go back to using square where we can incorporate their fee into our customers invoice.

      • TamaraDee's avatar
        TamaraDee
        Experienced Cover User

        Slimflow​ Tell me more! Square allowing to incorporate their fee into our customers invoice???

         

        We dont know how a customer will pay when we send invoice. Most do EFT, but new customers do Card and it can get pricey the fees on $12k or more.

  • geoeng's avatar
    geoeng
    Contributing Cover User

    I looked into getting my own credic card machine for customers to pay me directly.  CBA, my bank are charging 0.99% transaction fees from 1st Oct.  I am also checking to see if I can obtain my own BPAY link to add to my credit cards. It can be done but they dont advertise the fee.  surely it would be cheaper than 0.99% because there is no machine involved.  I hope that give people some ideas.