Australian Payment Regulation: RBA Caps & Surcharging Rules
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) enforces some of the world's strictest payment interchange caps. Weighted average interchange fees are capped at 0.50% for credit cards and 0.20% (or 15 cents) for debit cards. Consequently, domestic payment processing in Australia is substantially cheaper than in the United States.
When to Choose Which Provider
- Choose Square Australia if: You operate an in-person physical store, cafe, or market stall. Square's flat 1.6% in-person tap rate without per-transaction authorization fees makes low-value purchases (e.g. A$5 coffees) significantly cheaper than fixed-fee gateways.
- Choose Stripe Australia if: You run an online SaaS, subscription business, or custom e-commerce checkout needing automated billing, multi-currency wallets, or PayTo direct debit.
- Choose PayPal Australia if: You require high trust checkout for eBay or consumer retail where buyers prefer paying through their existing PayPal account balance.