The frequency of merchants surcharging on card transactions has increased over the past few years, and merchants are just as likely to surcharge on a debit card transaction as on a credit card payment. The Reserve Bank has released a research paper, The Evolution of Consumer Payments in Australia, drawing on data from its 2022 Consumer Payments Survey. The CPS is conducted every three years and includes a payments diary and a questionnaire. In 2022, three-quarters of payments were made with cards – three times the share of 2007. According to survey respondents, a surcharge was paid on 7 per cent of their card transactions in 2022, compared with around 5 per cent of card transactions in 2019. As a percentage of the transaction value, the median surcharge reported was 1.5 per cent, which was 50 basis points lower than in the 2019 survey. In value terms, the median surcharge declined from 80 cents to 50 cents. “The reduction in median surcharges is consistent with the increased use of cards for lower value purchases between 2019 and 2022, as well as the decline in the average cost of card payments,” the report said. In previous surveys the type of card used was a determining factor in whether a surcharge was paid, with credit card payments surcharged more often than debit card payments. But in the 2022 survey, respondents reported that surcharges were paid equally on credit and debit card payments. “The increased prevalence of debit card payments, greater use of payment plans that charge merchants a single percentage rate for accepting all card types and the emergence of payments providers that offer automatic surcharging may have all contributed to the convergence in surcharging frequency on credit and debit cards,” the report said. There were some card types and payment environments that resulted in higher levels of surcharging. Consumers using a credit card with reward points, which are relatively expense for merchants to accept, were more likely to be surcharged, as were consumers making purchases online.  However, the differences were smaller than in the past. Consumers appear to be more accepting of surcharges. Around 20 per cent of respondents in the 2022 survey said they would avoid shopping at a merchant that applies a surcharge – down from around 25 per cent in the 2019 survey.