ACCC: Hyatt changes card surcharges after investigation

ACCC News Centre

Filed March 13th, 2026

Detected March 13th, 2026

Summary

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that Hyatt hotels in Australia have changed their card payment surcharging practices following an ACCC investigation. Hyatt Regency Sydney was found to be charging debit card surcharges above its costs, in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act. All Hyatt hotels in Australia have now implemented changes to ensure compliance.

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What changed

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has confirmed that Hyatt hotels across Australia have amended their card surcharging practices after an investigation into Hyatt Regency Sydney's alleged breach of the Competition and Consumer Act. The ACCC investigated concerns that Hyatt Regency Sydney was charging debit card surcharges exceeding its actual costs of acceptance, a practice prohibited under Australian consumer law. Following the ACCC's intervention, Hyatt has implemented technological and policy changes to differentiate between debit and credit card surcharges, ensuring consumers are not overcharged.

Regulated entities, particularly those in the hospitality and retail sectors, should review their own card payment surcharging policies and systems to ensure they comply with the Competition and Consumer Act. Businesses must not charge a surcharge that exceeds their cost of accepting a specific payment type. The ACCC continues to actively monitor compliance in this area, and while Hyatt cooperated and promptly made changes, other businesses may face scrutiny and potential penalties for non-compliance. The Reserve Bank of Australia is also conducting a review of merchant payment costs and surcharging.

What to do next

Review current card payment surcharging policies and systems for compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act.
Ensure surcharges for debit and credit cards accurately reflect the cost of acceptance for each card type.
Train staff on correct surcharging procedures for different payment methods.

Source document (simplified)

Date

13 March 2026

Topics

Compliance and enforcement Hyatt hotels in Australia have changed their card payment surcharging practices, following an ACCC investigation.

After receiving reports from consumers, the ACCC investigated Hyatt Regency Sydney, and engaged with the regional group, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, about card payment surcharges.

“Businesses are reminded they must not charge a card payment surcharge that is in excess of their cost of accepting the type of card that is being surcharged,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

The ACCC was concerned that Hyatt Regency Sydney was charging card payment surcharges for debit cards at a rate above its costs of accepting those debit cards, in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act.

In particular, it was alleged that debit cards at Hyatt Regency Sydney attracted a surcharge above Hyatt’s costs of acceptance of the card, unless the customer inserted the card into a payment terminal and selected ‘chq/sav’.

Following the ACCC’s intervention, all Hyatt hotels in Australia have implemented technological and policy changes to ensure debit and credit cards are treated differently, regardless of how a card interacts with a payment terminal.

These changes will ensure consumers are not charged card payment surcharges at a rate higher than Hyatt’s costs of acceptance.

The ACCC has been actively monitoring business compliance with card payment surcharging laws and has investigated several alleged excessive payment surcharging.

In April 2025, the ACCC encouraged businesses to review their card payment surcharges to ensure they are not more than their cost of accepting card payments.

“The ACCC expects all businesses to comply with the law and ensure their payment systems and staff are informed of different card types and apply the correct surcharge amounts for each, as it can vary between credit cards and debit cards,” Mr Keogh said.

While the Reserve Bank continues its review of merchant payment costs and surcharging, the ACCC continues to monitor for potential excessive payment surcharging under the existing laws.

Hyatt cooperated with the ACCC and promptly implemented changes to fix the issue.

Background

Further information on excessive card payment surcharging is available at Credit, debit and prepaid card surcharges.

Excessive card payment surcharging is banned under the Competition and Consumer Act. A card payment surcharge is excessive when it is more than the business’s costs of accepting that specific payment type.

The Reserve Bank of Australia sets out the costs that businesses can include when determining their costs of accepting card payment types.

In October 2024, the Reserve Bank of Australia started its public review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging. More information on the review is available on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s website.

The ACCC has previously issued infringement notices for alleged excessive card payment surcharges to Nine Entertainment, Red Balloon Pty Ltd, Cruisin Motorhomes Pty Ltd, Fitness First Australia Pty Ltd and Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd . The Federal Court also ordered CLA Trading Pty Ltd (trading as Europcar) to pay penalties for excessive card payment surcharges.

Release number

15/26

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