01/10/2026
With all the talk around card surcharges disappearing from 1 October, we’ve had a few people asking what that means at the Railway Hotel.
For us, the answer is pretty simple. Nothing changes.
We’ve never charged a card surcharge at the Railway Hotel, whether you’re paying at the bar, bistro or Bottlemart. We’ve always absorbed the merchant fees ourselves.
And they aren’t insignificant. The cost of accepting card payments runs into the tens of thousands of dollars for us each year.
We’re happy that our customers have always paid the price they see, regardless of whether they tap a card or hand us cash, and that’s how it’ll stay.
But we also think it’s worth remembering that card payments aren’t free for businesses. Small businesses will still pay fees every time you tap your card, even though they can no longer pass that cost on as a separate surcharge.
So while nothing changes at the Railway, maybe go a little easy on your local café, takeaway shop or small business while everyone adjusts to the new rules.
Those fees haven’t simply disappeared.