From 1
January 2003 merchants could charge you
extra for paying by credit card. The
change is a result of recent reforms
introduced by the Reserve Bank.
Merchants such as
shop keepers, trades people, utilities
and others who accept payment by credit
card are not required to charge a fee
for credit card payments. If they do
charge a fee, they should make sure you
know that they do and how much it will
be before you pay.
Some tips
If
you are thinking of paying by credit
card, always check whether there will be
an extra charge.
There is
no requirement for such a fee to be
charged and it is expected that many
merchants will not charge one. However,
where a merchant does charge a fee it
will be up to them to determine the
amount of that fee, and different
merchants may charge different fees.
What can you do if a
merchant does charge a fee?
- You
could always agree to pay any fee.
- You
could choose to pay by other means
such as cash or EFTPOS.
- If you
are paying a bill, you could pay by
cheque or use internet or telephone
banking to make the payment from your
transaction/savings account.
- You
could take your business elsewhere, if
there are appropriate competitors
around who don’t charge such fees.
- If you
don’t have the money at the time but
don’t want to pay the fee or shop
elsewhere, you could also consider
lay-buying the goods in some
instances.
- If all
of the merchants you have access to
for a particular good or service
charge a fee and you still want to pay
by credit card, compare the fees to
see which merchant will charge the
least.
- Don’t
forget recurring debits linked to your
credit card, such as for mobile
phones, internet or gym fees. If the
merchant that direct debits your
account introduces a credit card fee,
you might find it less costly to have
the direct debit linked to your
transaction account instead. If you do
this, however, you should be confident
that you will always have the money in
your account to cover the cost, as
heavy fees can apply if you don’t have
the funds in your account.
You can obtain
general information regarding the
Reserve Bank's credit card and other
payment system reforms at
www.rba.gov.au.
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