The government estimates that major banks and card providers netted a whopping $4 billion in the past year from Australians, all thanks to surcharges.
Though we’ve been slowly weaning ourselves off using physical money for years, it wasn’t until COVID-19 hit and many businesses temporarily stopped accepting notes and coins as an option that we went cold turkey and broke up with cold hard cash once and for all.
But the convenience of not having to find an ATM and carry cash with you at all times is starting to cost us dearly. The federal government estimates that major banks and card providers netted a whopping $4 billion in the past year from Australians, all thanks to surcharges. According to Canstar, that’s an increase of $400 million from the year before.
While it might be tempting to direct frustrations about surcharges towards businesses, we should actually be looking at the big banks. While it might be tempting to direct frustrations about surcharges to the people adding 1.5 per cent to our sandwich, we should actually be looking towards the institutions we bank with and directing our questions towards them.
The good news is that the RBA is set to review merchant costs and surcharging, and as part of this will consider if Australia should follow the UK and many European nations by banning surcharges entirely. But if you’re wedded to a cash-free way of living and don’t want to go back, fear not. Instead of tapping a card or using a credit card, you can avoid surcharges by using your debit card and choosing to pay from your cheque or savings account.
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