Fees on Visa, Mastercard, and Eftpos payments will be banned – but what does it mean for retailers, rewards programs and consumers?

Debit and credit card surcharges will be eliminated from 1 October, as part of Reserve Bank reforms that will do away with extra checkout fees on Visa, Mastercard, and Eftpos payments.

The RBA estimates the changes will save consumers about $1.6bn a year in surcharges, but the big banks and credit companies are likely to recoup the costs of processing transactions in other ways, including through fewer perks for cardholders.

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