2 September 2026/14 min read

Your Payment Gateway Is Overcharging You. Here's Proof

small-businessaustraliacosts-pricingguides

Most Australian Businesses Are Paying 0.9% Too Much at Checkout

On $10,000 in monthly online sales, the difference between Stripe and PayPal is $1,080 per year — for the identical transaction volume and service. For a retailer turning over $30,000 a month across in-person and online, the wrong gateway choice silently drains $3,000–$5,000 annually. Yet most small business owners choose a payment gateway by signing up with whoever their web developer suggested, or defaulting to the logo they recognise.

This guide compares every major payment gateway available to Australian small businesses in 2026 — Stripe, Square, Tyro, PayPal, Pin Payments, eWAY, and the big-four bank merchant accounts — using real published fee structures, real settlement timelines, and real cost calculations for different business types. Every rate cited reflects the published standard rate at time of writing; always verify directly with each provider before signing up, as fees do change.

What a Payment Gateway Actually Does

A payment gateway is the technology layer that encrypts and transmits card data between your customer, your bank, and the card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Amex). It is distinct from a merchant account (the holding account for funds before they reach your business bank account) and a payment processor (which moves the money between institutions). Modern all-in-one providers like Stripe and Square bundle all three, which is why their setup is simpler and faster than the older bank-merchant-account model.

The gateway you choose determines:

What cards and payment methods you can accept
How much you pay per transaction — both as a percentage and as a fixed fee
When funds land in your account (settlement timing)
What your checkout looks like on mobile and desktop
Whether you can take payments in-person, online, or both
How well it integrates with your accounting software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks)

The Australian Payment Landscape in 2026

Australia has one of the highest rates of cashless payments in the world. According to Reserve Bank of Australia payment system data, the vast majority of in-person transactions are now made via card or contactless device — a proportion that has grown consistently every year since 2015. For e-commerce, card payments are near-universal. Three factors shape which gateways work best in the Australian market:

The eftpos network: Unlike the US, Australia has a domestic card network — eftpos (lowercase, not capitalised) — with lower interchange fees than Visa or Mastercard. Many dual-network debit cards (like CommBank's Smart Access card) sit on both networks. Gateways that route eligible debit transactions through the eftpos network rather than the international network will offer lower fees at scale. Tyro excels here; Stripe routes through Visa/Mastercard by default.
Tap-and-go dominance: Australians have among the highest contactless payment adoption rates globally. Any in-person terminal must support NFC tap-to-pay — this is not optional, it is the expectation.
BNPL penetration: Afterpay (now owned by Block, Square's parent company), Zip, and Klarna have significant market share, particularly in retail, fashion, and home goods. If you sell B2C at price points above $100, you will field customer requests for at least one BNPL option.

The Six Variables That Determine Your Real Cost

Before examining individual providers, understand the six variables that determine which gateway actually costs less for your specific business — not for the hypothetical average business in a comparison table:

Percentage transaction rate (domestic Visa/Mastercard): The headline number. Ranges from 1.4% to 2.6% across major providers.
Per-transaction fixed fee: A $0.30 fixed fee on a $5 transaction adds 6% to your effective cost. On a $500 booking, it adds 0.06%. High-volume, low-value businesses — cafés, food trucks, quick-service retail — must weight this variable heavily.
International card surcharge: Ranges from 0% extra (Square, same rate for all cards) to an additional 1.8% (Stripe, on top of domestic rate) to 1.8% extra (PayPal). If tourists or overseas clients make up even 10% of your sales, this compounds significantly.
Monthly or annual platform fees: Some gateways charge $0/month; others charge $30–$100 for lower per-transaction rates. A $49/month fee only saves money if the rate reduction generates more than $49 in savings — which requires a minimum monthly volume to be worthwhile.
Settlement timing: When does money actually hit your bank account? Next business day (Stripe, Square) versus 1–3 business days (PayPal, some bank gateways). For a business with thin working capital, a two-day delay becomes a real cash-flow issue — not a theoretical one.
Hardware costs: In-person terminal hardware ranges from $0 (Square Reader, free) to $400 (Square Terminal, outright purchase) to $29–$49/month rental (Tyro, bank merchants). Amortise hardware costs over 24–36 months when comparing total cost of ownership.

Payment Gateway Comparison: Full Fee Table

All fees are in Australian dollars and reflect standard, non-negotiated published rates as of mid-2026. Verify directly with each provider before committing, as rates are subject to change.

Gateway	Online (domestic)	In-person	International card	Monthly fee	Settlement	Best for
Stripe	1.7% + $0.30	1.7% flat (Terminal)	3.5% + $0.30	$0	Next business day	E-commerce, developers, online services
Square	2.2% (no fixed fee)	1.6% flat	2.2% (same rate)	$0	Next business day	Retail, cafés, pop-ups, in-person + online
PayPal	2.6% + $0.30	1.6% (Zettle)	4.4% + $0.30	$0	1–3 business days	eBay, marketplaces, secondary option
Pin Payments	1.75% + $0.30	N/A (online only)	2.9% + $0.30	$0	Next business day	AU-based e-commerce, WooCommerce
eWAY	1.4%–2.2% + $0.30	Via bank terminal	Varies by bank	$0–$49	Next business day	WooCommerce, MYOB users
Tyro	Via separate gateway	~1.2%–1.6% (negotiated)	~3%+	$29–$49 (terminal rental)	Next business day	Hospitality, healthcare, high in-person volume
Bank merchant (CBA, NAB, ANZ, Westpac)	0.8%–1.8% (negotiated)	0.8%–1.5%	+1.5%–2.5%	$20–$60 + terminal	1–2 business days	High-volume, established businesses

Stripe: Lowest Published Rate for Online Payments

Stripe is the most developer-friendly gateway on this list and, for online-only businesses, has the lowest published domestic transaction rate in Australia at 1.7% + $0.30 per domestic Visa or Mastercard transaction. There are no setup fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum transaction volumes. Funds settle to your Australian bank account the next business day on verified accounts.

The flat-rate model is straightforward: you pay the same percentage whether you process $1,000 or $500,000 a month — unlike bank merchant accounts, where rates are negotiated in tiers based on volume. Stripe's dashboard is widely regarded as best-in-class for reporting and reconciliation, and its native integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, Xero, MYOB, Zapier, and most accounting platforms are comprehensive.

Stripe also supports recurring billing (Stripe Billing), split payments for marketplaces (Stripe Connect), and advanced fraud detection (Stripe Radar) — all included in the base rate, not charged as add-ons.

Where Stripe costs more: The international card rate of 3.5% + $0.30 is the highest domestic-to-international gap of any major provider. If overseas clients or tourists represent more than 15–20% of your transactions, model this carefully. Stripe's in-person terminal (Stripe Terminal) is also a developer-setup product — not plug-and-play like Square — and lacks native integration with Australia's eftpos debit network.

Break-even point vs Square online: Stripe costs less online for transactions above $60 (the point where Stripe's 1.7% + $0.30 equals Square's 2.2% flat). Below $60 per transaction, Square online is marginally cheaper because it has no fixed fee component. A café selling $6–$15 coffees online should favour Square; a retailer selling $120–$300 items should favour Stripe.

Best for: Online-first businesses, e-commerce stores, SaaS products, service businesses that invoice online, and any business where development resources allow a customised checkout experience.

Square: Best All-Rounder for In-Person and Online

Square's in-person rate of 1.6% flat is the lowest self-setup, no-contract in-person rate available in Australia. There is no per-transaction fixed fee for in-person sales — which makes it compelling for low-value, high-frequency transactions. A café selling $6 flat whites pays $0.096 per transaction with Square, versus $0.40 (1.7% + $0.30) with Stripe Terminal.

The first Square Reader (tap-and-go, chip) is provided free. The Square Terminal — a standalone device with a touchscreen, built-in receipt printer, and all-day battery — costs around $399 outright, with no ongoing rental fee. Square's free point-of-sale app handles inventory management, staff permissions, basic loyalty, and reporting. For small retailers or cafés who would otherwise pay $80–$150/month for separate POS software, this represents real savings.

Square's online transaction rate of 2.2% (no fixed fee) is higher than Stripe for transactions above $60. For businesses that are primarily in-person but also sell online — a retail shop with a webstore, a café with online ordering — Square offers the advantage of a single ecosystem: one dashboard, unified inventory, one reconciliation process.

Square's international card rate (2.2%, same as domestic) is a genuine advantage for businesses serving tourists. A Square-powered café near a tourist attraction, or a retail shop with international online customers, pays the same 2.2% regardless of card origin — no international surcharge hidden in the fine print.

Best for: Retail shops, cafés, markets, pop-up stalls, and businesses that need seamless in-person and online payments in one ecosystem. Café and coffee shop websites with Square online ordering integrate directly with Square's in-person terminals — customers see consistent pricing and the business reconciles both channels in one dashboard.

PayPal: High Name Recognition, Punishing Fees

PayPal remains the most-recognised payment brand among Australian consumers, and for certain demographics — particularly shoppers aged 45 and above — the presence of the PayPal logo at checkout can increase conversion. That recognition has a price: PayPal's standard online rate of 2.6% + $0.30 is 0.9 percentage points higher than Stripe's domestic rate.

On $10,000 per month in online sales, that 0.9% gap costs $1,080 per year — for the exact same service. On $50,000/month, it costs $5,400/year. These are not edge-case numbers; they represent what thousands of Australian small businesses quietly overpay every year simply by never switching from the default they set up years ago.

PayPal's international card fee of 4.4% + $0.30 is the highest of any major gateway on this list. For any business with international e-commerce customers — a fashion retailer, a homewares brand, a specialist supplier — this rate is a serious liability.

Settlement to an Australian bank account takes 1–3 business days (versus next business day for Stripe and Square). PayPal's fund-hold policies have also been the subject of significant ACCC complaints from Australian merchants — sudden holds due to transaction spikes or disputes can freeze business funds for days or weeks, with limited recourse through local support.

When PayPal still makes sense: If you sell on eBay, Gumtree, or Facebook Marketplace, PayPal integration is effectively expected. It is also useful as a secondary checkout option — a "Pay with PayPal" button alongside your primary gateway — to capture the subset of customers who prefer it. Never use it as your sole or primary gateway if you have a choice.

Tyro: The EFTPOS Specialist for Hospitality and Healthcare

Tyro is an Australian-licensed bank focused entirely on business payments — not a tech company bolting on a banking licence, but a genuine ADI (Authorised Deposit-taking Institution) regulated by APRA. Its terminals integrate with more than 330 point-of-sale, practice management, and hospitality platforms, including Lightspeed, H&L, Impos, Menus Technologies, Best Practice, and Cliniko.

Tyro routes eligible debit transactions through the domestic eftpos network rather than Visa/Mastercard rails, reducing interchange costs — this is why Tyro can offer lower effective rates to restaurants and clinics that process a high proportion of EFTPOS debit transactions. Rates are negotiated rather than published, but small businesses typically see in-person rates of 1.2%–1.6% with a terminal rental of $29–$49/month.

Tyro is not suitable as a standalone online gateway. It is an in-person specialist. Businesses that need both high-volume EFTPOS and online payments typically pair Tyro terminals in-store with a separate gateway like Stripe for their website — two providers, two dashboards, but often the most cost-effective split.

For allied health practices, Tyro's HICAPS integration (for on-the-spot private health fund claims) is a significant practical advantage — processed at the terminal, no separate HICAPS terminal required.

Best for: Restaurants, cafés with high dine-in volume, medical and allied health practices, pharmacies, and any business using one of the 330+ integrated POS systems. Hospitality suppliers like ZenPacks Australia, who supply eco-friendly food packaging to venues across Australia, regularly see their café and restaurant clients using Tyro for in-venue payments paired with Stripe for online wholesale orders.

Pin Payments and eWAY: Australian-Based Alternatives

Pin Payments is an Australian-founded gateway with domestic card rates of 1.75% + $0.30 and international rates of 2.9% + $0.30 — sitting between Stripe and PayPal on price, with the international rate significantly lower than PayPal's. Its key advantage is that it is Australian-owned and operated: customer support runs on AEST business hours, funds do not pass through US banking infrastructure first, and the product is designed specifically for the Australian market. Pin Payments integrates with WooCommerce, Zapier, and most major e-commerce platforms, with no monthly fee and no in-person option.

eWAY has operated in Australia since 1998, making it one of the oldest payment gateways in the country. Its pay-as-you-go plan starts from $0/month; a monthly subscription plan (typically $49/month) offers lower per-transaction rates, dipping to approximately 1.4% + $0.30 for eligible merchants. eWAY's strongest integration is with WooCommerce, Magento, and — critically — MYOB, which matters for businesses whose accountants or bookkeepers use MYOB for reconciliation. It is a reasonable choice for higher-volume online merchants who want to reduce rates and don't mind a monthly commitment.

Both Pin Payments and eWAY are online-only gateways; neither offers hardware for in-person payments. For businesses that need both channels, they must be paired with a separate terminal provider.

Bank Merchant Accounts: Lowest Rates at Scale, Highest Friction

Australia's big-four banks — CommBank, NAB, ANZ, Westpac — and regional banks including Bank of Queensland and Bendigo Bank offer traditional merchant accounts with EFTPOS terminals. Rates are negotiated based on industry and monthly volume; established businesses with consistent turnover can negotiate domestic rates below 1%, which no flat-rate provider can match at scale.

The trade-offs are significant. Setup takes two to four weeks, involves credit checks and detailed business documentation, and requires separate EFTPOS terminal hardware (rental of $20–$40/month, or outright purchase at $400–$800). Online payments require a separate gateway — and the online gateway most banks offer is a white-labelled version of another provider (CommBank's online gateway, for example, runs on eWAY infrastructure).

For businesses processing less than approximately $100,000/year in card transactions, the administration, monthly fees, and terminal costs of a bank merchant account typically outweigh the rate savings compared to Stripe or Square. Above that volume, the conversation becomes worth having with your bank — particularly if you already have a strong lending relationship and can negotiate from a position of value.

The Hidden Fee Calculation Nobody Shows You

Most payment gateway comparison articles list rates side by side and declare a winner. What they don't show you is the effective rate at your actual average order value — and that number frequently inverts the rankings.

Here is what a business processing $50,000/month in online sales actually pays across four gateways, assuming an average order value of $85 and all domestic Visa/Mastercard transactions:

Gateway	Rate	Fixed fee/txn	~589 txns/month	Monthly cost	Annual cost
Stripe	1.7%	$0.30	$850 + $176.70	$1,026.70	$12,320
Pin Payments	1.75%	$0.30	$875 + $176.70	$1,051.70	$12,620
Square	2.2%	$0	$1,100	$1,100	$13,200
PayPal	2.6%	$0.30	$1,300 + $176.70	$1,476.70	$17,720

PayPal costs this business $5,400 more per year than Stripe — for an identical transaction volume. That figure grows as your turnover grows. Now add in the fees that rarely appear in comparison articles:

Chargeback dispute fees: Stripe charges $15 per dispute (refunded if you win the case). PayPal charges $15–$27 per dispute, regardless of outcome. Some bank gateways charge $25–$45. A business processing 600 transactions a month may face two to five disputes — adding $30–$225/month in fees that never appear in the headline rate.
Refund fees: Most gateways do not charge a separate refund fee, but they also do not return the original processing fee. Issuing a $200 refund through Stripe costs you $3.70 in unrecovered processing fees — the customer receives the full $200, but you absorb the gateway cost of the original transaction.
PCI compliance fees: Legacy bank gateways and some older hosted providers charge $99–$199/year for PCI DSS compliance certification. Stripe, Square, and Pin Payments handle PCI compliance as part of the service at no extra charge.
Currency conversion markup: If you quote prices in a foreign currency for international customers, the gateway charges a foreign exchange markup — typically 1.5–2% above the mid-market rate — on top of the international card surcharge. On a currency-converted international sale, your effective rate can exceed 5%.

Buy Now, Pay Later: Afterpay, Zip, and Klarna

BNPL services are not payment gateways in the traditional sense — they are payment methods you add to an existing checkout. The structural difference is important: with a card gateway, the customer bears the interest cost of spreading payments. With BNPL, the merchant pays the fee and the customer pays nothing (if instalments are on time). That fee is significantly higher than card processing:

Afterpay: Approximately 4–6% per transaction. Exact rates are not publicly published and are negotiated. Afterpay is now owned by Block (Square's parent company).
Zip Pay / Zip Money: Approximately 2–3.5% per transaction.
Klarna: Variable; roughly 3–5% depending on product and volume.

BNPL increases average order value — Afterpay's merchant data suggests AU retailers see a 20–40% lift in AOV when BNPL is offered at checkout. Whether that lift justifies a 4–6% merchant fee depends on your gross margin. A fashion retailer with 65% gross margin can absorb Afterpay's fee and still benefit from higher AOV. A business with 15% gross margin (electronics, hardware supplies) typically cannot — the AOV lift is outweighed by the fee premium.

BNPL in Australia is not yet regulated under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, though regulatory reform has been in progress since the ACCC's 2023 review. Changes are likely in the next one to two years; if you integrate BNPL, stay informed on any updated merchant obligation requirements.

RBA Rules on Card Surcharging

Australian businesses can legally pass card processing costs on to customers via a surcharge — but the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) caps that surcharge at the actual cost of acceptance. Excessive surcharging is a breach of the Australian Consumer Law and is actively enforced by the ACCC, which has taken action against airlines, event ticketing platforms, and individual retailers in recent years.

The practical rules for small business surcharging:

You may charge 1.7% if your gateway costs 1.7% — but not 2.5% rounded up for simplicity
A flat dollar surcharge (e.g. "$2 card surcharge") is permissible if it doesn't exceed your actual cost — but must be calculated against your average transaction size to ensure compliance
American Express and Diners Club can be surcharged at their higher actual acceptance cost (typically 2.5–3.5%), separately from Visa/Mastercard
EFTPOS debit transactions may only be surcharged up to their actual acceptance cost, which is typically lower (around 0.5%) than credit card costs
You cannot surcharge for BPAY or direct debit transactions

If you surcharge, document your actual processing cost from your gateway statements and review it at least annually. Gateway fees change; your surcharge rate must reflect your current cost, not a rate from three years ago.

Which Gateway for Which Business Type

Business type	Primary need	Recommended gateway	Reason
E-commerce (online only)	Lowest online rate	Stripe	1.7% + $0.30, no monthly fee, best-in-class integrations
Café / coffee shop	Low-value, high-frequency in-person	Square or Tyro	No fixed per-transaction fee; Square free Reader; Tyro for POS integration
Retail shop	In-person + online unified	Square	1.6% in-person, 2.2% online, free POS, unified inventory
Restaurant / bar	High in-person volume + POS	Tyro	eftpos routing, integrates with H&L, Impos, Lightspeed, Menus
Tradie / service business	Invoice links, deposit collection	Stripe or Square Invoices	Send payment link by SMS or email; customer pays by card; Xero sync
Allied health / clinic	HICAPS + EFTPOS	Tyro or bank merchant	Tyro integrates with Best Practice, Cliniko; handles Medicare billing flow
Hair salon / beauty	Booking deposits + in-salon	Square or Stripe	Square Appointments integrates natively; Stripe for custom booking setups
Marketplace / subscription	Split payments, recurring billing	Stripe	Stripe Connect for split payments; Stripe Billing for subscriptions
High-volume established business	Lowest possible rate at scale	Bank merchant account	Negotiated rates below 1% are achievable above ~$100k/month card volume

For service businesses like APX Trade Group, a licensed electrical contracting business operating across Sydney, the right setup is typically Stripe Invoices or Square Invoices: generate a payment link for the deposit, send by SMS, take the balance on the day with a tap-and-go reader. No monthly fees, no terminal rental, and funds arrive next business day.

The Cash Flow Maths Nobody Does

Settlement timing is the most underrated variable in gateway comparisons, and it becomes acutely important the moment your business has real financial pressure.

Consider a plumber who invoices $12,000 in a week of large jobs. With Stripe (next business day settlement), those funds arrive progressively Tuesday through Friday. With PayPal (1–3 business day settlement), some invoices paid Monday don't clear until Wednesday or Thursday. If materials invoices are due Friday, the two-day gap forces a credit card payment or a call to the supplier — both of which have costs.

Next-business-day settlement is standard for Stripe, Square, and most modern gateways on verified accounts. PayPal and some bank gateways on new accounts can hold funds for longer — particularly if the account is new, has a spike in transaction volume, or receives a dispute. PayPal's hold policies have generated significant complaints from Australian merchants; the ACCC has received numerous submissions about funds being frozen without adequate notice or explanation.

The practical rule: if your business has working capital tighter than 5–7 days of expenses, prioritise a gateway with guaranteed next-business-day settlement and documented, transparent hold policies. Stripe's hold policy is published and clear; PayPal's can be exercised unilaterally and is harder to predict.

How Your Website Affects Payment Conversion

Selecting the right payment gateway is only half the equation. A gateway that functions correctly on desktop but degrades on mobile — a common failure mode in DIY website builder integrations — can cost you 60–70% of potential sales, given that mobile now accounts for the majority of e-commerce browsing sessions in Australia.

Research from the Baymard Institute places the average documented cart abandonment rate at 70.19%. The most frequently cited reasons are unexpected costs at checkout, forced account creation, a slow or confusing checkout process, missing trust signals (no SSL padlock, no recognisable card logos), and a poor mobile experience. None of these are gateway problems — they are website problems.

Stripe's own published data indicates that businesses using optimised, fast-loading checkout flows see 10–15% higher payment completion rates versus basic or unoptimised implementations. A fast, mobile-first website with a correctly integrated payment gateway — not a broken plugin that throws a CORS error on half of iPhone models — is the actual conversion lever.

If your current site was built on a DIY builder or by a developer who bolted on a payment plugin without testing it end-to-end on mobile, it is worth reviewing your checkout analytics for drop-off rates before assuming the gateway is the problem. The gateway might be fine; the website is not.

An SEO retainer that drives traffic to a checkout that loses 80% of visitors is wasted spend — the sequence matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest payment gateway in Australia?

For online payments, Stripe has the lowest published domestic rate at 1.7% + $0.30 per transaction with no monthly fee. For in-person payments, Square's 1.6% flat rate is the lowest self-setup, no-contract option. Tyro and bank merchant accounts can achieve lower rates at high volumes, but they require negotiation and carry monthly fees or terminal rental costs. There is no single "cheapest" gateway for every business — the cheapest option depends on your average transaction value, transaction volume, and the mix of online versus in-person sales.

Do Australian businesses pay GST on payment gateway fees?

Payment processing services provided by overseas-based providers (Stripe, PayPal, Square) are generally treated as financial supply services and are GST-free for Australian businesses registered for GST. Domestic providers may invoice differently. The treatment can vary depending on the specific fee type and how it is structured, so confirm with your accountant and review each provider's Australian tax documentation before making assumptions in your bookkeeping.

Can I use Stripe in Australia?

Yes. Stripe has been fully operational in Australia since 2014. It supports Australian bank account settlement in AUD, with next-business-day settlement for verified accounts. Stripe supports all major Australian banks and is PCI DSS Level 1 certified. You can sign up directly at stripe.com/au with an ABN and a business bank account.

Is Square available in Australia and does it support EFTPOS?

Yes, Square operates in Australia and its terminals accept Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and EFTPOS cards, including tap-and-go and chip transactions. Square charges a flat 1.6% for all in-person transactions regardless of card type — there is no separate EFTPOS rate or surcharge for international cards in-person. The first Square Reader (tap-and-go, USB-C or Lightning) is provided free. The Square Terminal (standalone device, built-in printer) costs approximately $399 outright with no ongoing rental fee.

What payment gateway should a tradie use in Australia?

Most trades and service businesses benefit most from Stripe or Square Invoices: create an invoice with an embedded payment link and send it by SMS or email. The customer clicks and pays by card without calling back or visiting a website. Both settle next business day, both integrate with Xero for reconciliation, and both have $0 monthly fees. For taking payment on-site, a Square Reader or Square Terminal is the most cost-effective option — no monthly rental, no contract, just 1.6% flat on every tap.

Is PayPal worth adding to an Australian e-commerce site?

As a primary gateway, no — PayPal's 2.6% + $0.30 rate and 4.4% + $0.30 international rate make it the most expensive option for businesses that have a choice. As a secondary checkout option (a "Pay with PayPal" button alongside your primary gateway), it can capture the segment of customers who prefer it. The approximate rule: add PayPal as an option if more than 15% of your customers actively request it; don't make it your default or sole option under any circumstances.

What are the RBA rules on passing on card surcharges to customers?

Under RBA standards enforced by the ACCC, Australian businesses may pass on card surcharges to customers, but the surcharge must not exceed the business's actual cost of acceptance for that card type. Visa and Mastercard surcharges are capped at the merchant's processing cost (typically 1.5–2%). American Express can be surcharged at its higher actual cost (typically 2.5–3.5%). EFTPOS debit surcharges must not exceed their actual acceptance cost (typically around 0.5%). Excessive surcharging is a breach of Australian Consumer Law; the ACCC has pursued action against businesses found to be over-surcharging.

What is a chargeback and how does it affect my payment gateway?

A chargeback occurs when a customer disputes a transaction directly with their bank, which then reverses the funds. The gateway charges the merchant a dispute fee — $15 with Stripe (refunded if you win), $15–$27 with PayPal (non-refundable), and $25–$45 with some bank gateways. To contest a chargeback, you submit evidence through the gateway dashboard: proof of delivery, signed agreements, customer communications, and identity verification. Businesses with chargeback rates above 0.1% of transactions risk account suspension or termination. A clearly written refund policy on your website and well-maintained transaction records are your primary protection.

The Bottom Line: A 60-Second Decision Framework

Primarily online sales? Use Stripe. Lowest rate, best integrations, next-business-day settlement, no monthly fee, no lock-in.

Primarily in-person (retail, café, market stall)? Use Square. Free hardware, 1.6% flat rate, unified POS and webstore in one system.

Restaurant or medical practice with an integrated POS system? Talk to Tyro. Negotiated rates through the eftpos network, 330+ POS and practice management integrations.

High-volume WooCommerce store with MYOB? Evaluate eWAY's monthly plan. Native MYOB integration, competitive rates at the $49/month tier for businesses above approximately $15,000/month in online volume.

Whatever you do, don't use PayPal as your primary gateway unless there is a specific, overriding reason (eBay integration, marketplace requirement). At 2.6% + $0.30, you are paying a premium that compounds into thousands of dollars of unnecessary cost every year — money that would be better spent on stock, staff, or marketing.

Once you've chosen your gateway, the next step is making sure your website is actually built to convert the traffic you send to it — and if you need a professional website live in five business days without a five-figure agency bill, weauto builds them from $99 + GST.