The hospitality industry has provided strong feedback on the surcharge ban proposals. The proposal to ban merchant surcharges is part of the Retail Payment System (Ban on Surcharges) Amendment Bill. The Government introduced the Bill to Parliament in September 2025, passing it’s first reading on 16 September.
What the Bill Proposes
The Bill will amend the Retail Payment System Act 2022. It proposes to prohibit surcharges on all in-store EFTPOS, Visa and Mastercard payments. This applies to personal, business, domestic or foreign cards, and for all card forms including physical, digital, tokenised, and mobile wallets like Apple Pay.
As part of the consultation period for the Bill the Restaurant Association and Hospitality NZ surveyed their respective members for feedback. The Restaurant Association received nearly 300 responses, and the feedback was overwhelmingly clear. 83 per cent of the survey respondents currently have surcharges in place. 78 per cent indicated that they will look to review their prices if the ban proceeds.
Through the survey, members questioned why the legislative proposal targets small businesses in particular. Many respondents noted that customers generally recognise surcharging as a fee for the convenience of using their preferred payment method, and emphasised that businesses should have the right to decide whether to pass on these costs.
The consultation period has now closed, and we’ve submitted based on your feedback.
The Restaurant Association is continuing to raise awareness about the industry’s concerns through our advocacy work as well.
Next Steps
Parliament has sent the Bill to the Finance and Expenditure Committee. It’s expected to pass by May 2026, although the final details are still yet to be confirmed.
If members have additional feedback, please get in touch as we continue advocating on your behalf.