The RBA and the federal government are on board for outlawing card surcharges on eftpos, Visa, and Mastercard purchases, currently costing Australian consumers around $1.2 billion a year.
The ban had been set down to start from 1 July 2026, pending the outcome of an RBA review into the finer detail of the reforms.
The RBA received a total of 174 submissions after the release of its consultation paper in July.
Of those, 148 were published on the RBA website while the rest remain confidential.
Now, the RBA says it will need more time to consider and further investigate some matters raised and has pushed out its review period until March 2026.
There's no mention on whether this is likely to also delay the proposed ban on card surcharges.
Support for scrap of surcharge
The good news for consumers is that most submissions support the removal of surcharges on debit and credit card networks.
However, some expressed concern merchants will be left to carry the costs of card transactions and that the raised price on all goods and services would also be passed on to those who pay in cash.
Some larger merchants and card issuers supported scrapping the surcharge on debit cards only.
Banks foreshadow rise of Amex
One of the biggest concerns of many major banks involves the proposed cap on interchange fees, the current source of around $900 million in bank revenue annually.
Interchange fees are paid by merchants to banks that issue Visa and Mastercard cards, but are not levied by their major competitor American Express which issues its own cards.
Instead, Amex's revenue comes from a direct merchant service fee on each transaction.
The major banks have expressed fear American Express will be the big winner from proposed fee caps as it will remain outside the regulations that will apply to Visa and Mastercard fees.
The bigger banks say if they try to recoup lost revenue by raising their credit card interest rates and fees, it could see more consumers switching to Amex which would still have the ability to offer enticing rewards.
Credit card rewards to take a hit?
Already there are suggestions many credit card rewards schemes could be in line for major trims when the new fee regime takes effect.
Interchange fees play a key part in how Visa and Mastercard fund the points programs on the credit cards they offer.
Some industry experts say a fee cap will make it very difficult for providers to maintain worthwhile rewards programs - a hurdle that won't apply to Amex.
Currently, it's estimated around 2% of all Australian card transactions are processed on the Amex network which is more popular with corporate clients.
The RBA said it would look more closely at the implications of reducing interchange fee caps as part of its ongoing investigations.
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