Submissions on a Draft Guidance Note for the Varied Surcharging Standards

In June, the Reserve Bank announced its decision to vary the Standards relating to merchant surcharging on credit and scheme debit cards. The variation allows card scheme rules to limit surcharges to the reasonable cost of acceptance, while ensuring that merchants can fully recover their card acceptance costs. At the time of its decision, the Bank noted that some parties had expressed a desire for clarification of the meaning of ‘the reasonable cost of acceptance’ in the varied Standards. The Bank, therefore, noted that it was considering publishing a guidance note. The intention of the guidance note would be to help clarify the types of costs that the Bank considers to be part of the merchant's reasonable cost of card acceptance. It would make clear that, at a minimum, the reasonable cost of acceptance includes the merchant service fee, but it may also include a range of other costs. The Bank sought comments from interested parties on the necessity and form of a draft Guidance Note by 20 July.

Received by 20 July 2012

Received after 20 July 2012