Payment methods

Cash

Most businesses can choose whether they accept cash payments or not.

Businesses should be clear and upfront about the:

types of payments they accept
total minimum price payable for their products and services.

Some supermarkets and fuel retailers are required to accept cash payments at certain retail sites:

for in-person payments only
when transactions are $500 or less, and
between the hours of 7 am and 9 pm.

It is legal for a business to specify their terms and conditions for supplying products and services. However, consumers must be made aware of these terms and conditions before they purchase.

New cash payment rules for some supermarkets and fuel retailers

From 1 January 2026, some supermarkets and fuel retailers that meet certain criteria must accept cash payments in specific conditions. The cash acceptance rules do not apply to any other industries.

There are some exceptions to the rules including:

some small businesses
fuel retail sites where automotive unleaded petrol is not routinely supplied.

Small businesses that use a registered trademark are not excluded and must follow the rules.

Case study of a small business supermarket where the codes apply

TOP Supermarkets Ltd has an aggregated annual turnover exceeding $10 million. It owns and operates a single ‘TOP’ supermarket in a major urban shopping centre.

TOP Marketing Pty Ltd owns the registered ‘TOP’ trademark.

Around Australia there are:

50 small supermarkets that are each in franchise agreements with TOP Supermarkets Ltd, and
100 small supermarkets that are each independently owned and operated.

These 150 supermarkets use the ‘TOP’ name and signage under licence from TOP Marketing Pty Ltd. None of them have an aggregated annual turnover exceeding $10 million.

In this example, the codes apply to all 151 supermarket sites.

The exception for small business does not apply in this example because the small supermarkets use the registered trademark of the larger business, which has an annual turnover exceeding $10 million.

Applying for an exemption

Supermarkets and fuel retailers can apply for an exemption, that the ACCC may grant in specific circumstances. From 1 July 2026 penalties for breaking these rules apply for businesses that don’t have an exemption.

Find out more about the Cash Acceptance Industry Codes and guidance for businesses.

Consumer queries or reports

To make a query or report an issue about cash acceptance as a consumer, see Next steps if a retailer isn’t doing what they should do .

Supermarket or fuel retailer queries

If you have a query about cash acceptance for your supermarket or fuel business, including exemptions, please first refer to the regulations. If you need further information, contact cashacceptancecode@accc.gov.au.

Credit cards

Consumers can use credit cards to buy goods and services on credit.

They are different from:

debit cards, which use money direct from a bank account
prepaid cards, which are loaded with money in advance.

Visit the Moneysmart website for tips on using a credit card wisely.

Card surcharges

In general, businesses can currently charge a surcharge for paying with a credit, debit or prepaid card, but there are rules around what businesses can include in calculating these costs.

If there is no way for a consumer to pay without paying a surcharge, the business must include the minimum surcharge payable in the displayed price for its products.

For more information about surcharge rules, see Card surcharges.

Changes to surcharging rules

On 31 March 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced upcoming changes to card payment surcharging rules in Australia.

From 1 October 2026, the Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card networks can introduce ‘no surcharge’ rules for businesses that accept payments made with prepaid, debit and credit cards from each network. When they introduce 'no surcharge' rules, this means businesses cannot charge customers a surcharge for these payment types.

The Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card networks have each decided to introduce these ‘no surcharge’ rules from 1 October 2026. For more information, see the Reserve Bank of Australia’s website.

Any ‘no surcharge’ rules will be set by each card network’s scheme rules and merchant contracts. The card networks or payment service providers will be responsible for enforcing these rules, not the ACCC.

Learn more from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s announcement.

Businesses must continue to follow the current card payment surcharging laws until these changes take effect.

Changes would only apply to card payment surcharges. They will not apply to hospitality sector weekend or public holiday surcharges or other types of fees, for example booking fees.

Interest-free deals

Interest-free deals let consumers get a product or service straight away, but pay it off over time through a credit card or store card.

After an interest-free period, consumers must pay interest on any money they still owe. Businesses may also charge fees on interest-free deals.

Visit the Moneysmart website for advice on interest-free deals.

Buy now pay later services

Buy now pay later services allow consumers to buy a product or service and delay payment. Consumers usually pay by instalments without being charged interest. However, businesses may charge fees on buy now pay later services.

Visit the Moneysmart website for advice on using buy now pay later services.

Lay-by agreements

A lay-by agreement is a type of contract where consumers pay for goods in two or more instalments, and do not receive the goods until the full price has been paid.

Businesses must provide consumers with a written copy of any lay-by agreement that sets out any terms and conditions including termination fees. Termination fees can’t be more than the business’s reasonable costs in relation to the agreement.

A consumer can cancel a lay-by agreement at any time before they receive the products. If they cancel the agreement, the business must refund their deposit and anything else they have paid, minus any termination fee mentioned in the agreement. If the payments already made by the consumer are less than the termination fee, the consumer must pay the difference.

A business can only cancel a lay-by agreement if:

the consumer has broken the agreement, for example by not paying instalments
the business is no longer trading
the product is no longer available and this is outside the business’s control.

Next steps for business

If you need more help about the rules for payment methods

Contact the ACCC

If you believe you’ve been misled about payment methods by another business

Your first step is to contact the other business to explain the problem.

If the business doesn’t resolve the problem, there are more steps you can take.

Steps to resolve an issue with another business