Card surcharges get cheaper at more places

The Commerce Commission has today detailed the response it’s had to letters sent to a group of councils and companies about the surcharge customers pay when using a credit card or contactless debit card.

Businesses have been paying lower fees for accepting these payment types since the introduction of the Retail Payment System Act in November 2022.

While 2degrees replied to the commission letting it know it’d be reducing its surcharge from 1.75% to 1%, fellow telecommunications company One New Zealand said it was “comfortable” with its 2% surcharge.

Some of the councils contacted said they’d be reducing their fee:

• Auckland City Council was reducing its in-person weighted average fee from 1.75% to 0.67%.
• Dunedin City Council said it had reduced its fee from 1.8% to 1.35%.
• New Plymouth District Council and Hutt City Council both said they would be absorbing the fee.

Ticketmaster told the commission it was working on reducing or getting rid of the fee, while Ticketek said it had started rolling out new rates.

Air New Zealand was on the list of businesses contacted but had said its fee, which hadn’t changed since 2020, was “a reasonable estimate of the bank costs incurred”. PayMyPark also said it was just passing on the cost of the merchant service. The Commerce Commission is continuing to engage with both businesses.

Commission Chair John Small said: “We are particularly pleased to see those who have reviewed and are reducing their surcharges – including 2degrees who intends to reduce its surcharge from 1.75% to 1% later this year, as well as some councils who are reviewing and reducing surcharges for rates bills and other services. This is a win for consumers.”

You shouldn’t be charged for inserting or swiping a debit or Eftpos card when you’re paying in person. Online, there are sometimes options you can use instead of putting in your card details and paying the fee.

We’ve been collecting examples of high surcharges and are passing those on to the Commerce Commission. If you see a surcharge higher than 2.5% for a credit card payment or higher than 1% for a contactless debt card payment, we’d still like to hear from you. You can email [email protected].