The surcharge applies when a taxi passenger pays for a fare using non-cash payment transaction options, including credit, debit and charge card.
Taxi non-cash payment surcharge review 2019
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Consultation paper10 December 2018
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Draft decision30 May 2019
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Release further draft decision11 November 2019
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Final decision24 March 2020
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Amendment3 June 2020
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Further Amendment8 September 2020
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Changes in effect1 February 2021
Overview
We set the maximum taxi non-cash payment surcharge in Victoria. The surcharge applies when a taxi passenger pays for a fare using non-cash payment transaction options, including credit, debit and charge card.
Our final decision is to have two maximum surcharges
![Uber pin Thumbnail](/sites/default/files/styles/icon_larger/public/media/icon_library/noun_993493.png?itok=a6uXWyhs)
We will set the maximum surcharge at four per cent
The maximum surcharge will be four per cent for most non-cash payment methods. However, for Cabcharge payment instruments the maximum surcharge will be six per cent.
Our benchmarking and bottom-up cost assessment suggest that these amounts are enough for taxi payment processors to recover reasonable costs.
Most passengers will pay less when making non-cash payments as a result of this decision.
![Calendar warning Thumbnail](/sites/default/files/styles/icon_larger/public/media/icon_library/noun_1219177.png?itok=-5gXR5mo)
We will provide a transition period
To give the industry time to implement our decision the new maximum surcharges will come into effect from 1 February 2021. Until that time the current maximum surcharge of five per cent will apply.
Originally our final decision was for the changes to come into effect from 1 July 2020. Following further investigation of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on taxi payment processors we extended the implementation date to 1 October 2020.
It has become apparent to the commission that even more time is required to update payment terminals as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, in particular, the stage four lockdown restrictions. Our review indicates that providing non-cash payment transaction industry until 1 February 2021 to update their payment terminals would best meet the commission's legislative objectives and requirements.
View our final decision
Read our media release
Got a question?
Contact us for more information.
Resources
Taxi Non-Cash Payment Surcharge Review 2019: Further Draft Decision
Submissions on the further draft decision
Submissions on the draft decision
Information request
We sought information from a number of payment processors so we could better understand the reasonable cost of accepting and processing non-cash payment transactions in taxis.