The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) shares Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) and Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP) are both down more than 10% as investors face the possibility of a shakeup of the payments industry.
Those businesses are players within the national payments system, helping customers pay for goods and services at places like restaurants, cafes, and shops. However, the sector has come under scrutiny for the almost $1 billion in surcharges (according to the ABC) that customers are being slugged with annually.
The Federal Government has decided it needs to act to try to minimise some of these payment fees.
Federal Government to ban debit card surcharges
According to reporting by the ABC, the Federal Government is planning to ban debit card surcharges from 1 January 2026, though any changes are subject to further reviews by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
The ABC reported Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said the government will wait for the RBA to finish reviewing merchant card payment costs and surcharging, but the government wants to send a "very clear signal [that] excessive surcharging has to go". Jones also said:
We're sending a signal both to the bank and to the card payment providers that the government is willing to move unless they change their behaviour.
It might seem like a small charge every time you tap and go, but it punches a big hole in your wallet at the end of the year when you add up all of those fees.
Clearly, there's excessive charging going on here [and] we want to get to the bottom of it.
The ABC also reported that small businesses are sometimes charged twice as much as Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) or Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) for the same transaction.
How have the ASX All Ords shares responded?
In an ASX announcement, Smartpay acknowledged the federal government's comments about proposed changes to debit card surcharges and said that the RBA's review into surcharging is ongoing.
Smartpay then said:
The RBA is expected to provide a discussion document, as part of their review into surcharging, later today. The discussion document and review process is expected to take approximately 6 weeks. Smartpay is engaged with the RBA on the review of surcharging and will provide further information on any potential impacts of any changes once there is more certainty of the conclusion of the review or once the consultation and review period has been completed.
Tyro also acknowledged the discussions about the possible ban on debit card surcharging. The company said it has been actively engaged with the RBA and welcomes reviews that assess the true cost of card acceptance for small businesses and consumers.
The Tyro CEO and managing director Jon Davey said:
Debit offers consumers and merchants the ability to make convenient, secure and traceable transactions. Consumers should not pay excessive surcharges, nor should businesses fund the consumer benefits that come with high cost cards and loyalty programs. We support any review that assesses the true cost of card acceptance, including both debit and credit, for the fair regulation of payment acceptance in Australia.
While there isn't a proposal on banning all types of card surcharges, it does raise some questions for investors, who appear to be choosing to sell now rather than stick around for the final decision.
Time will tell what a potential debit card surcharging ban would do to the profitability of these ASX All Ords shares.
