Warning: Why you need to pay attention when you “tap and go”
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Consumers are being warned to keep an eye on additional surcharges that have been tacked on to their contactless payments, which include payments made via payWave or PayPass.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Businesses currently have permission to charge a bit extra for “tap and go” payments due to the fees that are incurred by offering the service, but the law prohibits businesses from making a profit by charging the fee.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to RateCity’s spokeswoman Sally Tindall, this isn’t always the case. She told </span><a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/revealed-using-paywave-costing-042734001.html?guccounter=1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yahoo</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“(Consumers) could be getting hit with unfair surcharges if retailers are doing the wrong thing.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tindall has urged consumers not to use contactless payments if they are aware that a surcharge will be incurred.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A lot of surcharges can be avoided with a bit of planning – always have a little bit of cash with you up your sleeve,” Ms Tindall advised.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ACCC’s deputy chair Mick Keogh explained that businesses are allowed to charge a flat fee for contactless payments, but it must not exceed what it cost the business to process the transaction.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Businesses should be careful about imposing a flat fee surcharge where the amount of a transaction is relatively small … In those circumstances the surcharge is likely to be excessive,” Mr Keogh said.</span></p>
