New Zealand merchant fees: interchange caps, surcharging and your statement

Part of Fees and rules by country. See the guides for every market we cover.

For a New Zealand business, the cost of taking cards has been falling for reasons that have little to do with competition. The Commerce Commission has regulated interchange on Mastercard and Visa cards, cutting what banks charge each other on every payment. The savings are real, but they only reach a merchant if the provider in the middle passes them on.

This guide explains what the Commission has decided, what it means for your statement and what remains unsettled. It is based on the Commission's announcements and law firm and press summaries, and it is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules and dates change, so confirm them on the Commission's website.

What has the Commerce Commission decided?

Personal cards: caps from December 2025

In July 2025 the Commission announced a final decision introducing a new pricing standard that significantly reduces interchange fees on Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards. As reported, the revised caps took effect on 1 December 2025 for domestic cards and 1 May 2026 for foreign-issued cards. The Commission estimated a reduction of about NZ$100 million, on top of earlier savings. We did not find a complete, verified list of the cap percentages in the sources we reviewed, so check the Commission's decision paper for the exact figures.

Commercial credit cards: caps from April 2027

On 22 October 2026 the Commission published its final decision to cap interchange on Mastercard and Visa commercial credit cards. The caps take effect on 22 April 2027. As reported, they are:

The Commission expects the commercial card caps to save businesses around NZ$40 million a year, and says that together with the earlier personal-card cuts, the total should reduce businesses' costs by around NZ$290 million a year.

Why do the savings not reach everyone automatically?

Interchange is one layer of three in a card payment. The others are scheme fees and the provider's margin. A cut in interchange lowers the provider's costs. Whether it lowers yours depends on how you are priced.

• Interchange plus: interchange is shown separately, so the cut appears on your statement.
• Blended or flat rate: your rate is set by the provider. It falls only if the provider chooses to pass the saving on or you ask for it.
• Fixed terms: if you signed a contract at a fixed rate, your rate may not change until renewal.

An article from a small business lender asked the same question in its title: credit card fees have dropped, but is your business seeing the savings? That is the right question to ask.

A worked example

A Wellington retailer takes NZ$40,000 a month on domestic consumer credit cards and NZ$25,000 on domestic debit. Suppose its provider charges a blended rate of 1.60% on everything and it has not changed since before the caps. If the provider's interchange cost fell by, say, 0.30 percentage points on those payments, the provider's margin would rise by NZ$195.00 a month unless it passed the saving on.

The 0.30 percentage point fall is an assumption for the example, not a published figure. The point is the scale: for a merchant of this size, a saving of NZ$2,340 a year is on the table, and it is only realised if somebody asks.

What should you ask your provider?

1. Has my rate changed since 1 December 2025? By how much?
2. If I am on a blended or flat rate, how has the lower interchange been reflected?
3. Can I see interchange, scheme fees and your margin separately?
4. Will my rate change when the commercial credit caps start on 22 April 2027?
5. If my rate is fixed in a contract, when can I renegotiate?
6. How are foreign-issued cards priced after 1 May 2026?

Then check the answer on your statement. Our guide to the effective rate shows how to compare your cost before and after.

What do New Zealand merchants still pay on top of interchange?

Interchange is only one slice of the bill, and the caps leave the others untouched. Scheme fees are set by the card networks. The provider's margin, terminal rental, gateway fees and any minimum monthly charge are set by the provider. A merchant who sees interchange fall by a few tenths of a percentage point can still be paying a high total if the margin is large or the fixed fees are heavy. That is why the effective rate, not the interchange line, is the number to track over time. If you want to see how the layers add up, read acquirer markup explained.

What about surcharging?

The Commission did not directly regulate surcharges in its interchange decision. It said it would explore what rules might be needed to address excessive surcharging. The government then said it would introduce a bill to ban surcharges. A later report says the government had promised to ban in-store card surcharges by May 2026, but that deadline passed without a new law, and that the minister was watching what the interchange cuts did for merchants. We could not confirm the current position, so check the Commission and Parliament websites before you rely on any of this. Our guide to surcharging, cash discounts and dual pricing compares the rules in several countries.

If surcharging is allowed where you trade today, the lower interchange is a good reason to check that your surcharge still reflects your actual cost. A surcharge that is higher than the cost of accepting the card can be questioned.

What practical steps can a New Zealand merchant take?

1. Pull your last three statements from before December 2025 and the most recent ones.
2. Work out the effective rate for each, with every fee included.
3. Compare. If the rate has not moved and you are on a blended or flat rate, ask why.
4. Get a quote on your own figures from another provider. It shows what the market is offering now.
5. Check your contract for term, notice and exit costs. See contract length, auto-renewal and notice periods.
6. Diary April 2027 if you take commercial credit cards, and review then.

For consultants

New Zealand merchants have a ready-made reason to review their pricing, and a regulator's estimate to support it. Compare their effective rate before and after December 2025, and ask what the provider passed on. For businesses that take commercial credit cards, put April 2027 in the diary. The checkmyrates calculator supports NZD and lets you enter commercial and foreign-issued turnover as separate lines, which will matter more as the caps arrive.

Frequently asked questions

Has New Zealand capped interchange fees?

Yes. The Commerce Commission has set caps on Mastercard and Visa personal card interchange, starting on 1 December 2025 for domestic cards and 1 May 2026 for foreign-issued cards, and on commercial credit cards from 22 April 2027.

Will my merchant fees fall?

Only if your provider passes the saving on. On interchange plus you can see it directly. On blended or flat rates, ask your provider and compare statements.

What are the commercial credit card caps?

As reported, domestic commercial credit cards are capped at 0.70% in person and 1.10% online, and foreign-issued ones at 0.70% in person and 1.50% online, from 22 April 2027.

Is card surcharging banned in New Zealand?

In the sources we reviewed, it had not been banned, though the government had said it would act. Check the Commerce Commission and Parliament websites for the current position.

How much will businesses save?

The Commission estimates about NZ$40 million a year from the commercial credit card caps, and about NZ$290 million a year in total together with the earlier personal card cuts.

Where can I find the official details?

On the Commerce Commission's website, in its decisions and reasons papers on interchange fee regulation.

Figures in this guide are examples to show the method. Fees, rules and rates change, so check your own statement, contract and current rules before you decide. This is general information, not financial or legal advice.