How people pay in Australia in 2026
Australia is one of the most card-heavy markets in the world, and debit leads. In the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2025 Consumer Payments Survey, cards accounted for 73% of consumer payments, with debit cards at 49% and credit cards at 23%. Most debit cards are dual-network: around 90% carry both eftpos and Visa or Mastercard, which lets merchants route transactions to the cheaper network. Phones are the default way to tap. About 40% of card payments were made with a mobile device in 2025, up from 31% in 2022.
2026 is a year of regulatory change. The RBA removed surcharging on eftpos, Visa and Mastercard cards and lowered interchange caps from October 1, 2026. Account-to-account payments are rising on the New Payments Platform (NPP), with PayID for transfers and PayTo for mandated debits, while the industry plans to retire the old direct entry system. Cash still covers about 15% of payments, and BNPL providers such as Afterpay and Zip now operate under an Australian credit licence.
- 73% of consumer payments made by card in 2025 (Reserve Bank of Australia)
- 15% of consumer payments made in cash in 2025 (Reserve Bank of Australia)
- 1.5 billion payments a year processed by the NPP (Australian Payments Plus)
- 84% of merchants with least-cost routing enabled for in-person debit, end of 2025 (Reserve Bank of Australia)
Payment by card in Australia
Australia has its own debit scheme, eftpos, run by Australian Payments Plus (AP+), next to Visa, Mastercard and American Express. In December 2025 alone, Australian cards made 1.06 billion debit and 324 million credit card purchases, and debit purchases grew 10.6% in value over the year. The same RBA data shows why routing matters: the average merchant fee was 0.42% on eftpos, against 0.55% on Visa debit, 0.58% on Mastercard debit and 1.33% on American Express. AP+ says merchants that enable least-cost routing can save 20% on debit card transactions. Our article on the challenge of payment routing explains the mechanics.
The rules changed on October 1, 2026. Merchants can no longer surcharge eftpos, Visa or Mastercard debit, prepaid or credit cards, in store or online, and new interchange caps apply. The RBA cut the cap on consumer credit cards from 0.8% to 0.3% of value and the debit cap from 10 cents to 8 cents or 0.16%, and a 1.0% cap on foreign-issued cards follows on April 1, 2027. American Express, UnionPay and PayPal said they would also drop surcharges. The RBA expects the changes to save merchants about $910 million a year.
Card schemes in Australia
eftpos
Domestic debit scheme
Australia's domestic debit network, run by AP+, built into most bank debit cards next to Visa or Mastercard and available in Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. It is usually the cheapest network for merchants.
0.42% average merchant fee on eftpos transactions, December quarter 2025, Reserve Bank of Australia
Visa
International scheme
The largest international brand in Australia, on most dual-network debit cards and many credit cards, and accepted at almost every terminal and online checkout.
0.55% average merchant fee on Visa debit, 0.96% on Visa credit, December quarter 2025, Reserve Bank of Australia
Mastercard
International scheme
The second international scheme, issued as debit and credit by major banks such as NAB and Westpac, and present in all mobile wallets.
0.58% average merchant fee on Mastercard debit, 0.97% on Mastercard credit, December quarter 2025, Reserve Bank of Australia
American Express
Charge and credit card
Amex issues cards directly and has widened acceptance through payment facilitators and its OptBlue program. It is the most expensive card for merchants.
616,000+ new Amex merchant locations added in Australia in 2024, American Express
Debit cards
Debit card
Dual-network debit cards are the everyday payment card in Australia, tapped in store and stored in phones. Around 90% of debit cards are dual-network.
49.7 million debit cards on issue in December 2025, against 16.6 million credit and charge cards, Reserve Bank of Australia
Payment by cash in Australia
Cash use has stopped falling. The RBA's 2025 Consumer Payments Survey found that cash made up about 15% of payments by number and 8% by value, up from 13% by number in 2022. Cash still covers 19% of in-person payments and around one in four payments under $10. About 7% of adults, roughly 1.5 million people, are high cash users, and about one in five people use cash to avoid card surcharges.
Access is the issue. About three-quarters of card-accepting in-person businesses also take cash, down slightly from about 80% in 2016, and convenient access to withdrawals has declined since 2022. ATM withdrawals still reached $9.2 billion in December 2025. Australia Post is the backstop for rural areas: Bank@Post works at about 3,400 Post Offices under agreements renewed with the major banks in 2025. For bills, Post Billpay accepts cash over the counter and processes more than 50 million payments each year.
Cash payment methods in Australia
Cash
Banknotes and coins
Australian dollar notes and coins remain common for small purchases, leisure spending and for older and rural consumers, and many people keep cash as a backup.
15% share of consumer payments made in cash in 2025, by number, Reserve Bank of Australia
Bank@Post
Post Office banking
Australia Post's counter service for depositing and withdrawing cash and checking balances for customers of participating banks, a key cash access point outside cities.
3,400 Post Offices providing Bank@Post services, February 2025, International Post Corporation
Post Billpay
Cash bill payment
Lets consumers pay bills from more than 1,000 bill types, such as utilities, council rates and phone bills, in cash at the Post Office counter or self-service terminal, or online.
50 million+ payments processed each year, Australia Post
Payment by bank transfer in Australia
The New Payments Platform, operated by AP+, is Australia's real-time rail. It handles around 1.5 billion payments a year, nearly one in three account-to-account payments, and processed $226.3 billion in December 2025, up 23% on a year earlier. Consumers reach it through Osko and PayID, an alias such as a mobile number or email linked to a bank account. PayID awareness rose to about 80% in 2025, and about half of respondents used it in the past year. See our guide to instant payments.
PayTo brings mandated debits to the NPP. Customers approve an agreement in their banking app, and merchants can collect one-off or recurring payments, a model close to variable recurring payments. Amazon.com.au added PayTo at checkout in June 2025. The older BECS direct entry system, which runs direct debits, has a target end date of June 30, 2030. BPAY remains the standard for bills, with 2% of consumer payments in the RBA survey.
Bank transfer methods in Australia
PayID
Payment alias
An alias such as a mobile number, email or ABN linked to a bank account, used for instant transfers and increasingly for paying small merchants and marketplace sellers. The payee name is shown before paying.
About 50% of Australians used PayID in the past year, 2025, Reserve Bank of Australia
Osko
Instant payment
The NPP overlay service built into the Pay Anyone function of banking apps, which moves funds between participating banks in under a minute, 24/7.
$226.3 billion value of NPP payments in December 2025, up 23% year on year, Reserve Bank of Australia
PayTo
Pay by bank mandate
A digital debit mandate on the NPP that customers authorize and manage in online banking, used for subscriptions, bills, wallet top-ups and e-commerce checkouts such as Amazon.com.au.
BPAY
Bill payment
The bill payment scheme owned by AP+, where customers pay with a biller code and reference number from their banking app. AP+ plans to merge the BPAY Osko service with the NPP single credit transfer.
2% share of consumer payments made with BPAY in 2025, Reserve Bank of Australia
Direct debit (BECS)
Direct debit
Batch direct debits through the BECS direct entry system are still used for bills, loans and memberships, but the industry targets the end of BECS by June 30, 2030, with volumes moving to PayTo and NPP payments.
Payment by installment and BNPL in Australia
Australia is a home market for buy now, pay later. Afterpay, owned by Block since 2022 and used by 3.6 million customers in Australia and New Zealand, and Zip remain the local leaders, joined by Klarna, PayPal Pay in 4 and humm. Zip's Australia and New Zealand business processed A$3.98 billion in transaction volume in the year to June 2026, up 6.2%, with 1.88 million active customers and 66,600 merchants.
The sector is now regulated as credit. Since June 10, 2025, BNPL providers need an Australian credit licence and AFCA membership, and low-cost BNPL contracts follow modified responsible lending obligations. The change has a cost. humm said its new regulated product drove a 61% fall in Australian point-of-sale volumes during its FY26 transition. BNPL is outside the new card surcharge rules, and the RBA has announced a mid-2026 review covering BNPL, mobile wallets and American Express.
Installment and BNPL providers in Australia
Afterpay
BNPL
The Australian pioneer of pay in 4, owned by Block, used online and in store through its app and card. It operates under Australian Credit Licence 527911.
3.6 million customers shopping with Afterpay in Australia and New Zealand, company figure in 2026, Afterpay
Zip
BNPL
Sydney-based Zip offers Zip Pay, an interest-free account up to $1,000, and Zip Money, a line of credit for larger purchases, both accepted online and in store.
A$3.98 billion ANZ transaction volume in FY26, 1.88 million active customers, Zip Co
Klarna
BNPL
Klarna launched in Australia in January 2020 with Commonwealth Bank as partner and co-owner of its local business, offering Pay in 4 and the Klarna Card. It holds Australian Credit Licence 568866.
PayPal Pay in 4
BNPL
PayPal's interest-free plan splits online purchases under A$2,000 into four payments over six weeks, with no late fees, inside the PayPal checkout.
humm
Installment credit
Australian lender humm offers long interest-free installment plans, up to 72 months and $30,000 in store, for larger purchases in retail, home improvement, solar and health.
15,000+ partner stores in Australia, company figure, humm
Payment by digital wallet and X-Pay in Australia
Phones are now a mainstream way to pay in Australia. In the RBA's 2025 survey, 43% of consumers paid with a mobile device in the diary week, and device payments made about 40% of card payments, up from 31% in 2022. Mobile and app payments also made 46% of online payments. Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay carry most of this X-Pay traffic, with eftpos available inside the wallets of participating banks.
Routing inside wallets is still a debate. For in-store Apple Pay purchases with a dual-network debit card, the merchant chooses whether the transaction goes through eftpos or the international network, and the RBA will consult on online and mobile wallet least-cost routing from mid-2026. PayPal remains a common online wallet, and the RBA says other methods such as PayPal and BNPL remained broadly stable. Beem, the peer-to-peer app until recently owned by AP+, was sold by AP+ to Bolt Group in April 2026. Our article on Apple Pay integration challenges covers the merchant side.
Digital wallets and X-Pay in Australia
Apple Pay
Mobile wallet
Apple's wallet is accepted almost everywhere in Australia, from supermarkets to taxis, and supports eftpos as well as Visa, Mastercard and Amex cards from participating banks.
About 40% of card payments made with a mobile device in 2025, all wallets, Reserve Bank of Australia
Google Pay
Mobile wallet
The Android wallet for tap-to-pay in stores and on transit and for online checkout. Support depends on each bank, and some eftpos-only cards are not supported.
Samsung Pay
Mobile wallet
Samsung's wallet on Galaxy phones, used for contactless payments in store, and one of the wallets where eftpos is available for participating banks.
PayPal
Online wallet
PayPal is widely offered at Australian online checkouts, supports Pay in 4, and is also accepted for bill payments through Australia Post.
Beem
P2P wallet
A peer-to-peer payments app formerly owned by AP+ and sold to Bolt Group in 2026, used to send, request and split money and to pay bills via BPAY.
3 million+ app downloads, April 2026, Australian Payments Plus
Payments in Australia: FAQ
What is the most popular payment method in Australia?
Debit cards. They made 49% of consumer payments in 2025, ahead of credit cards (23%) and cash (15%). Most debit cards carry both eftpos and Visa or Mastercard, and about 40% of card payments are made with a phone or watch.
Can merchants in Australia still charge a card surcharge?
No, not on eftpos, Visa or Mastercard cards. The RBA removed surcharging on these networks from October 1, 2026, and American Express, UnionPay and PayPal said they would follow. Weekend, public holiday and service fees are not affected.
What are PayID and PayTo?
PayID is an alias, such as a phone number or email, linked to a bank account for instant NPP transfers, used by about half of Australians in 2025. PayTo is an NPP debit mandate that customers approve in their banking app, replacing traditional direct debits over time.
Is buy now, pay later regulated in Australia?
Yes. Since June 10, 2025, BNPL providers such as Afterpay, Zip and Klarna must hold an Australian credit licence, join AFCA and follow responsible lending obligations adapted to low-cost credit.
Accept local payments in Australia with NORBr
In Australia, the big four banks, led by CommBank, acquire many card payments, and Tyro and Zeller serve SMEs. A PSP, PayFac, ISO or ISV should check eftpos least-cost routing, PayTo and PayID, surcharging rules and settlement speed.
With NORBr, you can connect any acquirer, PSP or local provider that offers eftpos and scheme debit cards, PayID and PayTo, BPAY, and BNPL such as Afterpay and Zip. Some are already in our connector catalog; Mapper™ gets the others live in days, and Smart Checkout shows each shopper the right methods. Explore the other #PayWorldTour guides.
Local payment providers in Australia
Tyro
Acquirer
Sydney-based, ASX-listed acquirer and business bank serving SMEs in hospitality, retail and health, with card terminals integrated into many point-of-sale systems.
Covers: Cards, eftpos, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay / Samsung Wallet
Zeller
Acquirer
Melbourne-founded fintech that combines card terminals, online payments and business accounts for Australian small businesses.
Covers: Cards, eftpos, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Eway
Payment gateway
Long-established Australian online payment gateway, part of Global Payments, connecting merchants to local acquiring banks for e-commerce and recurring billing.
Covers: Cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Afterpay, Zip
Pin Payments
Payment gateway
Melbourne-based online payment platform offering acquiring and an API for Australian businesses and platforms that need to accept cards and wallets.
Covers: Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay
CommBank
Acquirer
Merchant services of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, one of the country's largest card acquirers, with Smart terminals and online gateway options.
Covers: Cards, eftpos, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay / Samsung Wallet
