How the card surcharge ban could change our relationship with cash

With the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) ban on card surcharges now in effect you might start seeing local businesses offering discounts if you pay in cash.

Cash payments in Australia are much less common than they were a decade ago, but the RBA's latest data showed a slight uptick in cash use in 2025.

How could the ban on card surcharges impact how cash is used in Australia?

This graph from the RBA's 2025 Consumer Payments Survey tracks the percentage of Australians who use cash in a typical week.

As you can see, 2025's figure of 50 per cent is much lower than the 97 per cent in 2007.

John Hawkins, a senior economic lecturer at the University of Canberra, doesn't expect cash use to skyrocket.

"From January the government has required most grocery stores and petrol stations to accept cash , which may see some modest increase in its use," Dr Hawkins says.

"On the other hand, about 20 per cent of consumers say they used cash to avoid card surcharges.

Angel Zhong, a finance professor at RMIT, says she would be surprised if the surcharge ban reverses the long-term trend of card payments.

"I expect a modest uptick [in cash use] mostly at the margins: the café, the barber or the tradie offering a few per cent off for cash," Professor Zhong says.

"Australians moved to cards and mobile wallets mainly because of convenience, speed and record keeping, not because of price.

"A small discount at a handful of businesses is unlikely to change entrenched habits for most people."

Data from the RBA's 2025 survey showed people aged 65 and older were the most likely to use cash.

Cash might also still be preferred by people in regional areas with limited bank access or poor internet signal, people managing tight budgets, and people who have privacy concerns.