Australians are collectively dishing out a whopping $4 billion a year for nothing more than the convenience of paying using tap-and-go services on a phone or card.
New research by Canstar has shown the average Australian shopper spent $140 last year on electronic payment surcharges.
That adds up to $4 billion – a $400 million increase on the year before.
Canstar finance expert Steve Mickenbecker said much of that spike can be put down to inflation.
“That [increase] sounds like an awful lot, but it’s reflecting inflation in a lot of ways,” he told 9News.
“When you look at the quarter for December 2022 to the December ’23 quarter, it’s about a 6.4 per cent difference.
“Now what happens is that most fees are paid as a percentage of the price of the transaction, the purchase price, and it goes up automatically with inflation.
“So the bank doesn’t have to put your rate up, you just get charged more as the retailer, and of course that’s then passed on to the consumer.”
Mickenbecker said those fees are split between the various banks and financial institutions that are involved in the transactions.
“The money goes to the banks,” he said.
“There are two banks that share it: the bank that gives you the account or the card, and the bank that provides the payment services, and the plan too, because Visa and Mastercard can get their share as well.
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“So it’s shared between them, but it’s a big number and it’s out of the pockets of Australians.”
Mickenbecker said shoppers could pay in cash to avoid the transaction charges or opt to insert a debit card as that typically attracts a smaller fee than tap and go.
