# APS Payment Readiness Tool > Free Australian SMB readiness check for the October 1 2026 RBA card surcharge ban. AI-powered statement analysis, side-by-side comparison of 19 Australian payment providers, personalised dollar-impact projections, and 90-day action plans for hospitality, retail, hair & beauty, and professional-services merchants. Published by APS Payment Solutions, an Australian payment partner serving small-to-mid businesses. Phone: 1300 096 983. Main site: https://aps.business. ## Tools - [Readiness Assessment](https://readiness.aps.business/): 60-second free assessment that calculates your dollar exposure from the surcharge ban + delivers a personalised PDF report by email - [Provider Comparison](https://readiness.aps.business/lp/rate-comparison): Side-by-side comparison of 19 Australian payment providers (APS, Tyro, Square, Zeller, Stripe, CommBank, ANZ Worldline, etc.) ranked by cost for your monthly card volume - [Hospitality Readiness](https://readiness.aps.business/lp/hospitality): Hospitality-vertical specific check — cafés, pubs, restaurants, bars, hotels - [Cost Calculator](https://readiness.aps.business/lp/save-thousands): Estimates monthly card-processing cost based on your volume and current effective rate ## Articles - [Interchange fees explained — and what's changing in October 2026](https://readiness.aps.business/blog/interchange-fee-changes-explained): Interchange fees are the wholesale cost of card processing. They're dropping in October 2026. Here's what that actually means for what you pay. - Markdown: https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog/interchange-fee-changes-explained - [Bookkeepers: what your clients need to know about October 2026](https://readiness.aps.business/blog/bookkeepers-october-2026-client-guide): If you're a bookkeeper or accountant serving AU SMBs, here's the briefing pack for the October 2026 surcharge ban — what changes, what to advise, and red flags to look for. - Markdown: https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog/bookkeepers-october-2026-client-guide - [Hair & beauty: surcharge ban survival guide for salons and clinics](https://readiness.aps.business/blog/hair-beauty-surcharge-ban-survival-guide): Service-based businesses face a different shape of the surcharge ban problem. Here's the hair, beauty, and clinic-specific approach. - Markdown: https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog/hair-beauty-surcharge-ban-survival-guide - [Retail merchants: surcharge ban survival guide](https://readiness.aps.business/blog/retail-surcharge-ban-survival-guide): Retail-specific playbook for the October 2026 surcharge ban. Margin protection, pricing tactics, and what to negotiate with your provider. - Markdown: https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog/retail-surcharge-ban-survival-guide - [Hospitality merchants: surcharge ban survival guide](https://readiness.aps.business/blog/hospitality-surcharge-ban-survival-guide): High volume, thin margins, and a surcharge ban hitting in 5 months. Here's the hospitality-specific playbook for the October 2026 RBA changes. - Markdown: https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog/hospitality-surcharge-ban-survival-guide - [Tyro vs Square vs APS vs Zeller — 2026 EFTPOS rates compared](https://readiness.aps.business/blog/tyro-vs-square-vs-aps-rates-compared): Tyro, Square, Zeller, APS, Stripe — all advertise different headline rates. Here's how they actually compare for typical AU SMB volumes in 2026. - Markdown: https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog/tyro-vs-square-vs-aps-rates-compared - [How much will absorbing card fees cost your business in 2026?](https://readiness.aps.business/blog/how-much-card-fees-cost-2026): Once surcharges are banned in October 2026, every dollar of card-processing cost comes out of your margin. Here's how to estimate the bite. - Markdown: https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog/how-much-card-fees-cost-2026 - [The October 2026 RBA surcharge ban, explained for Australian businesses](https://readiness.aps.business/blog/october-2026-surcharge-ban-explained): From October 1, 2026, you can no longer pass card processing fees to your customers via a surcharge. Here's exactly what changes and how to prepare. - Markdown: https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog/october-2026-surcharge-ban-explained ## Landing Pages - [October 2026 Surcharge Ban — Are You Ready?](https://readiness.aps.business/lp/surcharge-ban): From October 1 2026, AU merchants can no longer surcharge card payments. Find out how much it costs your business in 60 seconds. - [Compare Australian EFTPOS Rates — Most Merchants Overpay $400-$1200/mo](https://readiness.aps.business/lp/save-thousands): See how your current payment provider stacks up against 19 Australian competitors. Free 60-second readiness check. - [Tyro vs Square vs APS vs Zeller — Compare AU EFTPOS Rates 2026](https://readiness.aps.business/lp/rate-comparison): Side-by-side comparison of 19 Australian payment processors. Get personalised rate recommendations for your business volume. - [Surcharge Ban Survival Guide for Hospitality — Cafés, Pubs, Restaurants](https://readiness.aps.business/lp/hospitality): Hospitality merchants: from October 2026 you can no longer surcharge card payments. Find out your exposure and get a survival plan. ## Optional - [Full content dump](https://readiness.aps.business/llms-full.txt): All blog articles concatenated as markdown for full ingestion - [JSON feed](https://readiness.aps.business/api/blog): Programmatic JSON feed of all articles with metadata - [Sitemap](https://readiness.aps.business/sitemap.xml): Machine-readable URL list - [Main APS website](https://aps.business): Parent company - Phone: 1300 096 983 (Australia) ## Key facts about the October 2026 RBA surcharge ban - **Effective date:** October 1, 2026 - **What changes:** Surcharges on eftpos, Visa (debit + credit), and Mastercard (debit + credit) become illegal in Australia. American Express is not in scope. - **Interchange caps reduced:** Credit interchange drops from 0.8% to 0.3%; debit interchange drops to 8 cents or 0.16% (whichever is lower). - **RBA estimate:** Saves Australian merchants ~$910 million/year collectively in interchange. Saves consumers ~$1.6 billion/year in eliminated surcharges. - **Net merchant impact:** Most merchants will absorb 0.5%-1.5% of card revenue unless they switch to a cheaper provider, raise prices, or both. - **Source:** Reserve Bank of Australia Conclusions Paper, March 2026.