What is a merchant service fee? 

When a customer makes a payment via our EFTPOS device (by tapping/inserting a card or mobile device) a transaction fee (also called a merchant service fee) is applied by the bank for each transaction. These fees are strictly regulated by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).  In Australia, businesses can choose to pass on this merchant fee to the customer, which is known as a ‘surcharge’.

With operational costs on the rise across the industry it is becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to absorb these fees, and as a result, Federation Clinic will commence passing on this surcharge to patients from 4th February 2025. It is important for us as a clinic to balance affordability and business expense management as best as possible, so ensuring transparency around these fees is important. Rather than us incorporating these services fees into higher consultation fees, we feel it is beneficial for patients to be able to see the surcharge as a separate fee. In the event the Government was to reduce or eliminate merchant services fees in the future, it would mean patients are not paying an inflated consultation fee that previously included the service fee.

How will the merchant service fee be calculated and charged? 

Our EFTPOS machine will automatically calculate the surcharge at the time of making payment. The merchant service fee ranges from 0.5% – 1.5% depending on the card type being used at the time of making payment. Generally, a debit card has a lower merchant fee than a credit card.