Card surcharges at petrol stations

Calculate the real price of the fill

Base fill cost = litres bought × pump price in cents per litre ÷ 100.

Card surcharge = base fill cost × surcharge percentage.

Effective price in c/L = final card total ÷ litres bought × 100.

Worked example: 50 litres with a 1% surcharge

Assume a station displays 189.9c/L and you buy 50 litres.

1. Base fill: 50 × 189.9 ÷ 100 = $94.95.
2. One per cent surcharge: $94.95 × 0.01 = $0.9495, which rounds to $0.95.
3. Final card total: $94.95 + $0.95 = $95.90.
4. Effective card-paid cost per litre: $95.90 ÷ 50 × 100 = 191.8c/L.

A nearby station charging 191.0c/L with no surcharge would cost $95.50 for the same 50 litres. Its board price is 1.1c/L higher, but its final card total is 40 cents lower. Compare the final eligible amount, not the board price alone.

What the current surcharge rule requires

The ACCC consumer guidance says a surcharge on covered eftpos, Mastercard and Visa payments cannot exceed the business's cost of accepting that payment type. If one surcharge is used across several covered card types, it cannot be higher than the lowest permitted surcharge among those types. A flat fee is allowed only when it stays within the cost of acceptance for the transaction.

The ACCC says the excessive-card-surcharge ban does not currently apply to American Express, Diners Club, BPAY, PayPal or cash. General Australian Consumer Law pricing rules still apply. American Express has separately announced that it will remove surcharging from 1 October 2026.

Where another payment method is available without a surcharge, the business should disclose each card fee prominently before payment. Where every available method attracts a surcharge, the minimum unavoidable amount must be included in the displayed price. A sign saying only “card surcharges apply” does not tell the customer the minimum total price.

What changes on 1 October 2026

The RBA surcharge-removal FAQ explains that the RBA removed its prohibition on no-surcharge rules. The RBA does not directly regulate merchants. eftpos, Mastercard and Visa then decided to introduce no-surcharge rules from 1 October 2026, and American Express made the same decision.

The card networks or payment service providers will enforce their network rules and merchant contracts. Any exceptions will depend on those rules or other law. The change applies to a fee added because a customer pays by card. It does not automatically remove weekend, public-holiday, genuine booking, genuine service or non-card payment fees. The ACCC says a fee called a service or handling fee that applies only to some payment methods is probably a card surcharge by another name.

A pay-at-pump hold is not a surcharge

A pay-at-pump terminal may not know the final fill amount when it first checks the card. Australian Payments Plus eftpos procedures describe a short pre-authorisation from a fuel dispenser using a default or customer-selected maximum, followed by the final transaction amount.

That pending pre-authorisation is a temporary reservation of funds or credit, not a surcharge. Check the settled transaction and receipt. Release timing depends on the card issuer and payment provider. If the final amount is wrong or a pending hold remains longer than expected, contact the petrol station and the card issuer.

What to do if a surcharge looks excessive

1. Photograph the price board or payment notice and keep the receipt.
2. Check the card type, base fill amount, surcharge percentage and final total.
3. Ask the petrol station to explain or correct the charge.
4. If the issue remains, report the surcharge to the ACCC and seek individual complaint help from the relevant state or territory consumer agency. Contact the card issuer for a transaction or pending-hold problem.

The ACCC accepts reports and may investigate excessive surcharging or misleading prices, but it does not set an individual merchant's surcharge or resolve individual card-surcharge complaints.

Sources and limits

Current pricing rules were checked against the ACCC guidance for consumers and businesses. The payment framework and 1 October 2026 change were checked against the RBA payment-surcharge backgrounder and removal FAQ. Fuel-dispenser pre-authorisation was checked against Australian Payments Plus eftpos procedures. Sources checked 26 August 2026. This page provides general information, not legal or financial advice.