What are merchant fees?

There are several components that make up merchant fees including:

  • EFTPOS rental and maintenance fees
  • Fees incurred processing card transactions
  • International transaction fees
  • Switching fees
  • Fraud related chargeback fees (the fees, not the actual cost of the chargebacks)


The cost of transactions

Different types of cards have different merchant fees.

When customers pay by credit card, the cost depends on the type of card (e.g. Visa, Mastercard®, or American Express)

With different rates from each card brand, it can get messy.


Surcharges can help recover fees

You have the option to recover most of the costs of accepting these cards via surcharging.

However, you should only be surcharging to cover up to your cost of acceptance. If your customers are excessively surcharged, you could come under scrutiny. That’s why we include a Cost of Acceptance calculator that you can refer to if or when you decide to surcharge.



Making sure you stay compliant

So, how do you make sure you surcharge enough to cover your costs without breaking the rules?

The rules state that you need to look at your historical card data and how much it costs you to accept each card type over the previous 12 months, before deciding on a surcharge amount.

Tyro’s dynamic surcharging does the maths for you, giving you peace of mind that you are always surcharging the right amount and remaining compliant.



Keen to learn more?

Check out our FAQs on dynamic surcharging


Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

1. Dynamic Surcharging is available for Mastercard, Visa, eftpos, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, and Diners Club on CounterTop EFTPOS and Mobile EFTPOS machines, and excludes eCommerce transactions. By default, we do not include your EFTPOS machine rental costs into the calculation of your cost of acceptance, however you may choose to apply these costs into your calculation of your cost of acceptance via the Tyro Portal.

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