Afterpay users could face surcharge
John KehoeSenior WriterNov 29, 2019 — 4.39pmThe $6 billion of buy now, pay later transactions made via Afterpay, Zip Pay and Flexi Group may soon have surcharge fees added on, because of regulator concerns other customers are subsidising users through higher prices.
The Reserve Bank of Australia strongly signalled it favours ending the "no surcharge" rule imposed on merchants such as retailers by Afterpay and other buy now, pay later operators.
Buy now, pay later operators typically impose a fee on merchants of between 3 and 6 per cent, but stipulate the costs cannot be passed directly on to consumers using services such as Afterpay.
The RBA is worried the costs borne by merchants are being recouped from the fees being indirectly passed on through higher prices of goods and services to all consumers, regardless of the payment option they choose.
Afterpay is in the sights of the RBA. Supplied
"The Bank has long been of the view that the right to apply a surcharge on more expensive payment methods plays an important role in signalling the costs of different ways of making payments to consumers," the RBA said in a Review of Retail Payments Regulation issues paper released on Friday.
