Consumer NZ has urged the Commerce Commission to consider banning card payment surcharges due to concerns about excessive and opaque fees.
In December last year, ComCom announced a draft decision to reduce the fees Kiwi businesses pay for accepting Visa and Mastercard payments.
However, Consumer NZ argues that there is no certainty that reduced interchange fees will result in lower surcharges for consumers. Instead, the organisation advocates for stricter regulation or the complete elimination of surcharges to ensure consumers are not unfairly charged.
Consumer NZ acting head of research and advocacy, Jessica Walker, described the state of surcharging in New Zealand as chaotic and disorganised.
“We have received hundreds of complaints showing merchants are not complying with the guidelines. It’s time to introduce new surcharge rules,” Walker said.
The surcharging-related complaints Consumer NZ said to have received include excessive fees, lack of transparency, hidden charges bundled with surcharges, and flat fees that don’t reflect costs.
New Zealand lacks formal regulations on surcharges, relying instead on guidelines that suggest transparency, fairness, and avoidability. These guidelines, according to Consumer NZ, are frequently disregarded, leaving consumers vulnerable to excessive fees.
For the organisation, the complete ban of surcharges would result in several key benefits for consumers and the market, including more consistent purchasing experience for shoppers and a fairer system by encouraging merchants to lower payment processing costs.