Brett Lackey
10 May, 2018
Daily Mail Australia
Australian consumer watchdog has issued a warning on hidden card payments
ALDI was recently ordered to display signs about a 0.5 per cent tap-and-go fee
ACCC has said it is up to businesses if and how they pass on these card charges
Tap-and-go is fast becoming the predominant way Australians are making small everyday purchases, however, the consumer watchdog has issued a warning about hidden payments.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has stated that using a debit card at the checkout, whether tap-and-go or even using a pin, can attract a fee similar to credit cards.
Recently ALDI was required to clearly display notices in its stores of any card surcharges after a Victorian pensioner noticed the small charges on a receipt and took it to the media.
The local newspaper story eventually led to an enquiry by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission who ordered the supermarket chain to better alert their customers of the 0.5 per cent fees some of its stores were charging.
ALDI and other business are required to pay for the infrastructure that allows these types of cards to be accepted and this may be passed onto consumers whether that be factored into the price of goods and services or through an extra fee.
‘Rather than ALDI inflating prices across the board to compensate for the credit card acceptance costs (like most of the retailers do), ALDI instead allows customers to make the choice as to the payment method they prefer,’ the German company said in a statement.
ACCC deputy chairman Dr Michael Schaper told A Current Affair has advised consumers that it is within a business’s rights to slam customers with a tap-and-go fee however they must not charge higher than the cost of providing the service.
He said consumers should alert the ACCC if the encounter unusually high fees of this nature.
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