How to Accept Online Payments in Australia: Methods, Fees and Surcharge Rules

To accept online payments in Australia, start with a free bank transfer option (your BSB and account number, plus a PayID that arrives in near real time through Osko), then add a card payment link for clients who want to pay by card. As at October 2026, Stripe's published rate is 1.65% + 30c for domestic cards, Square charges 2.2% for invoices paid online and PayPal lists 2.9% + 30c for domestic commercial payments. Since 1 October 2026 businesses can no longer surcharge eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or American Express payments, so card fees now come out of your price.

What are the ways to accept online payments in Australia?

Australian businesses have six main options: bank transfer by BSB and account number, PayID (sent through Osko), PayTo, BPAY, card payments through a provider such as Stripe, Square or PayPal, and buy now pay later. The first four move money between bank accounts; the last two run on card or credit networks and cost a percentage of each payment.

Card and BNPL fees are from each provider's Australian pricing page as at October 2026: Stripe, Square and PayPal. They change, so check before you sign up. Negotiated or high-volume pricing can be lower.

Is PayID good for business?

Yes, for most small businesses PayID is the simplest way to get paid quickly. Clients pay from their own banking app, the money usually arrives within moments when both banks support Osko, and their bank shows your registered business name before they confirm, which makes it harder for a scammer to substitute their own details.

According to Australian Payments Plus, which runs PayID, businesses can register a mobile number, email address, ABN or Organisation Identifier as their PayID through online banking (see PayID for business). Using your ABN as your PayID is tidy because it already appears on every tax invoice. Osko payments can also carry a description of up to 280 characters when both banks support it, so your invoice number comes through in full, which makes bank reconciliation much easier.

One caution: you never need to pay a fee to "upgrade" or "unlock" a PayID. A buyer who says otherwise is running a known scam.

How do you accept card payments on invoices?

Sign up with a card payment provider, create a payment link for the invoice amount (or use the provider's own invoicing), and add the link to your invoice beside your bank details. The client pays on the provider's secure page, and the provider pays the money out to your bank account less its fee.

1. Choose a provider. Stripe suits online and remote work, Square suits businesses that also take payments in person, and PayPal suits clients who already use it.
2. Verify your business. You will need your ABN, business details and the bank account for payouts.
3. Create a payment link per invoice. Put the invoice number in the link's description so the payment is easy to match later.
4. Add it to the invoice. Put it in your "How to pay" section next to PayID and BSB, not buried in the footer.
5. Record the fee separately. When the payout lands, record the invoice as paid in full and the fee as an expense, including the GST credit if you are registered.

Never ask a client to email you their card number, and never type card numbers into a spreadsheet. Hosted payment pages and links keep card data with the provider, which handles the security requirements for card handling.

"How to pay" wording you can copy

What are the card surcharge rules in Australia?

From 1 October 2026, businesses can no longer add a surcharge when customers pay by eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or American Express. Until 30 September 2026, surcharges on these cards were allowed but could not exceed what it cost the business to accept that card type. If your invoices, website or quotes still mention a card surcharge, remove it. American Express is not regulated by the RBA in the same way, but it chose to remove surcharging from the same date.

The change came out of the Reserve Bank's review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging. In its March 2026 conclusions, the RBA decided to remove the prohibition on no-surcharge rules for the designated card networks, and the networks introduced no-surcharge rules from 1 October 2026. The RBA also cut the caps on interchange fees (the fees card issuers receive on each transaction) from the same date: the consumer credit card cap fell to 0.3% and the debit cap to 8c or 0.16%, with a 1.0% cap on foreign-issued cards due from 1 April 2027. Lower interchange should reduce the cost of card acceptance over time, but how much of it reaches you depends on your provider's pricing. See the RBA's conclusions paper in brief.

The ban is enforced through card network rules and your merchant agreement, not by the ACCC, but Australian Consumer Law still applies to how you present prices. Relabelling a card surcharge as an "admin fee" or "processing fee" risks being misleading. The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman's card surcharging ban guide recommends checking every place a surcharge might be applied, including terminals, point-of-sale, invoicing software and online payment systems, and explaining any price changes honestly. Weekend and public holiday surcharges are still allowed if they are clearly disclosed before the customer buys.

What the ban means for your invoices

• Remove surcharge lines and wording such as "1.5% surcharge for credit card payments" from invoice and quote templates.
• Price the card cost in. If card fees are 2% of your card revenue, you either absorb that or adjust your prices for everyone.
• Steer, do not penalise. List PayID and bank transfer first on the invoice. Most business clients will use them if they are the easiest option shown.
• Other payment methods: if you want to pass on the cost of a method outside those four card networks, read the provider's terms first, keep any fee no higher than what it costs you, and show it before the client pays.

How much do card fees cost on a typical invoice?

On a $2,200 invoice (including $200 GST), a card payment costs roughly $37 to $64 depending on the provider, while a PayID or bank transfer usually costs little or nothing. Over a year of invoices, that gap is often enough to pay for your accounting software.

If you are registered for GST, you can claim the GST included in processing fees as a credit when you hold the provider's tax invoice or fee statement. Stripe says its Australian fees include GST, and Square provides a monthly tax invoice for its fees in the Square Dashboard.

Which payment methods should a small business offer?

Offer two or three methods, not eight. Every option you add is one more thing to reconcile, and too many choices can slow clients down. Bank transfer or PayID plus one card option covers almost every client.

• Tradies and mobile services: PayID on the invoice, a card reader or tap-to-pay for on-site payment, and a card link for clients who pay later. Take deposits for materials; see deposit invoices.
• Consultants and freelancers: bank transfer and PayID first, a Stripe link for overseas clients, and PayTo or a card on file for monthly retainers.
• Builders and larger jobs: bank transfer for progress payments, because card fees on a $40,000 claim add up fast.
• Higher-volume billers: consider BPAY through your bank so clients can pay with a biller code and reference they recognise.

How do you protect yourself from invoice payment scams?

The biggest risk for small businesses is not card fraud, it is a scammer intercepting an email and sending your client an invoice with their own bank details. Protect clients by telling them on every invoice that your details will never change by email, and by encouraging PayID, which shows your registered name before they pay.

Banks have also introduced Confirmation of Payee, which checks the account name a payer enters against the BSB and account number and warns them about a mismatch on first-time payments. Australian Payments Plus says it went live in July 2025 and is now offered by more than 100 financial institutions (see Confirmation of Payee). It only works if your account name on the invoice matches the name on your bank account exactly, so check that now.

Other habits that help: send invoices from the same email address every time, use a PDF rather than an editable document, and if a client says they paid but nothing has arrived, check which account they used straight away. Our guides to bank details on an invoice and payment terms cover the wording side.

How do online payments help you get paid faster?

Online payment options shorten the gap between "invoice received" and "invoice paid" by removing steps. The fastest combination is a clear due date, PayID and a payment link on the invoice, the invoice sent the day the work is done, and a reminder the day after it falls due.

Reminders do as much as payment options. InvoiceSonic sends automatic payment reminders at 7, 14 and 30 days after the due date, which helps when a client simply forgets. For accounts that are already late, use our guide on how to chase overdue invoices.

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Fees were taken from providers' published Australian pricing pages as at October 2026 and may change; your own pricing may differ. For guidance specific to your situation, see the ASBFEO, the RBA and business.gov.au, or speak to your bank or payment provider.

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