Charging a Card Surcharge: What to Know Before You Enable It

Every time a client pays an invoice by card, your payment provider keeps a few percent as a processing fee. Over a year, that adds up, so passing the fee on to your clients is tempting. But surcharging comes with rules, and those rules change: as of today, 1 October 2026, card surcharges are banned in Australia. Before you switch one on, here's what to check. Let's dive in! 🚀

What Is a Card Surcharge?

A card surcharge is an extra fee you add when a customer pays by card, to cover what the payment provider charges you for processing that payment. If your invoice is for $1,000 and you add a 2% surcharge, a client who pays by credit card pays $1,020.

It's not the only way to deal with card fees:

• Building the cost into your prices: everyone pays the same price, whatever the payment method.
• Discounting cheaper payment methods: you give a small discount to clients who pay by bank transfer, for example, instead of charging extra for cards.

All three cover the same cost. What changes is how your client sees it, and what the rules allow where you do business.

Australia Just Banned Card Surcharges 🇦🇺

From 1 October 2026, businesses in Australia can no longer add a surcharge to payments made with eftpos, Mastercard or Visa cards: debit, credit and prepaid cards alike. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced the change as part of its review of retail payments regulation.

Businesses can still cover their card costs in other ways: they can build them into their prices, and they can still offer discounts for particular payment methods. You can read the details in the RBA's FAQ.

The lesson goes beyond Australia: surcharging rules are set by governments, regulators and card networks, and they change. A surcharge that was fine last year may not be fine today.

Before You Enable It: A Checklist ✅

1. Check the rules for you and your customers

Whether you can add a surcharge depends on the country, the card network, and sometimes on where your customer is based, not only where you are. Stripe keeps an up-to-date overview of surcharging rules by region, which is a good place to start.

⚠️ Always check with your accountant or your payment provider before you enable a surcharge. They know the rules that apply to your business today.

2. Only surcharge credit cards

Where surcharging is allowed, it generally applies to credit cards only. Debit cards and prepaid cards are excluded, according to Stripe's guide.

3. Don't charge more than it costs you

A surcharge should cover your cost, not make a profit. Card networks cap it too: Visa allows up to 3% or your actual processing cost, whichever is lower, and Mastercard up to 4%, according to Stripe.

💡 Not sure what cards really cost you? Invoiless shows the processing fee of every online payment on your Payments page, and our free Stripe Fee Calculator shows the fee for any amount.

4. Tell customers before they pay

A surcharge should never be a surprise. Show it before your client pays, and show the amount on the receipt. Card networks have their own notice rules as well: Visa, for example, asks to be notified at least 30 days before you start surcharging, according to Stripe.

5. Think about your clients

Some clients won't mind; others will. A surcharge on a large invoice can feel like a penalty, especially for a long-standing client. Give them a choice: when you also accept a payment method without a fee, such as a bank transfer, paying the surcharge becomes their decision.

Alternatives to Surcharging

If surcharging isn't allowed where you are, or doesn't feel right for your clients, you still have options:

• Build the cost into your prices: a small price increase covers your card fees without a separate line.
• Offer a discount for cheaper payment methods: reward clients who pay by bank transfer. Even in Australia, discounts for particular payment methods are still allowed.
• Make cheaper methods easy: put your bank details on every invoice so paying by transfer is as easy as paying by card.

For more on discussing fees and payment terms with clients, see our guide on negotiating terms and payments with clients.

How to Add a Card Surcharge in Invoiless 💳

Once you've checked that a surcharge is allowed for your business, Invoiless can add it for you with the Payment fee option, introduced in Invoiless v2.7. It works with invoices paid online via Stripe, so make sure you've connected your Stripe account first.

1. Go to your "Settings > Business settings > Payment fee" page.
2. Click Add payment fee.
3. Read the Check local rules first message, then click I understand.
4. Enter your percentage of the amount paid by credit card, for example 2%.
5. Click Save changes.

You can also add a fee to a single invoice: open the invoice, expand Payment fee in the Control panel, click Add payment fee, enter the percentage, and click Save.

Here's how the payment fee works:

• Credit cards only: the fee applies only to credit cards paid via Stripe. Debit cards, prepaid cards, wallets, other payment methods and payments recorded offline are never charged.
• Capped at 4%: you can't set a fee above 4%.
• Shown before payment: your client sees the fee and the total to pay before confirming the payment.
• The invoice total never changes: the fee is added on top at the moment of payment.
• Clear records: the fee is shown on the payment, and it's returned to your client when you refund the payment.
• Recurring invoices: turn on Apply payment fee to add it to every invoice a recurring invoice generates.
• E-invoicing: payment fees aren't available for e-invoicing customers.

Here's what your client sees when paying by credit card: the fee is announced at the top, and the total with the fee is shown before they pay.

Check our savings calculator to see how much surcharging could save your business.

📘 Refer to this documentation for more details.

Wrap Up

A card surcharge can help you recover what card payments cost you, but only when it's done right: check that it's allowed for you and your customers, keep it at or below your real cost, apply it to credit cards only, and always show it before your client pays. And since the rules keep changing, as Australia just showed, check with your accountant before you turn it on, and again from time to time.

When you're ready, Invoiless handles the details for you. Try Invoiless for free and get paid without giving away your margin. 🧡