Aussie card surcharges are gone. The cost of your “free” Point Of Sale isn’t

From 1 October 2026, card surcharges are changing in Australia.

We covered what that means for Aussie hospitality in our last blog, but there’s another question worth asking if you’re not using Bustle:

How much is your “free” Point of Sale software actually costing you?

Before anyone starts throwing EFTPOS terminals at us, we’re not saying free POS systems aren’t free.

What we’re saying is it might be time to do the math.

The maths has changed

Until now, plenty of Australian venues have passed their card processing costs on to customers as a surcharge.

• Your customer taps.
• Your customer pays the surcharge.
• That surcharge covers the transaction fee from your payment provider 

From 1 October 2026, that has changed. Card surcharges are being removed, which means that transaction fee now needs to be absorbed by your business or accounted for somewhere else in your pricing.

That suddenly makes the percentage sitting quietly beside your payment provider’s name much more interesting.

Because 1.4%, 1.6% and 1.9% don't look very different until you apply them to a year of coffee, sandwiches and your hard-earned margin.

A tiny percentage can end up a big number

Let’s say your venue puts $50,000 a month through card payments.

A difference of 0.2 percentage points is $100 every month.

• At $80,000, it’s $160.
• At $100,000, it’s $200.

That’s $2,400 a year from a difference that looks pretty tiny on a pricing page.

And as your venue gets busier, that cost keeps growing. Which brings us back to that free POS.

$0 is only one number

There are POS systems in Australia that advertise $0 monthly software fees, while charging a percentage every time you take a card payment.

One major provider currently charges 1.6% - 1.9% for in-person payments and states that its processing fee includes access to its free POS software and tools.

That can be a perfectly reasonable deal.

But $0 a month does not automatically mean the least expensive, the best fit for hospitality, or the best bang for buck (any more). Especially now that you're the one wearing the transaction fee.

Instead of comparing:

Free POS vs paid POS

try comparing:

Free POS + processing fees vs Paid POS + processing fees.

That’s the number that actually comes out of your business.

And then there’s the actual Point Of Sale bit

Price matters.

But anyone who has worked a Saturday morning coffee rush knows the cheapest till in the world isn't much use if it slows everybody down.

Bustle was built around hospitality.
Our three-tap philosophy is simple: the things your team does hundreds of times during service should be lightning fast.

Orders. Tabs. Tables. Modifiers. Split bills. Partial payments. Cash ups. Item countdowns. Kitchen printing.

You shouldn't have to navigate software designed to work equally well for a candle shop, a plumber and a barber when there are twelve coffees on order, table seven wants to split six ways and somebody has ordered an oat piccolo with an extra shot.

That's the difference between having a POS and having a hospo Point Of Sale system.

Your POS doesn't have to choose your payments

This is the bit we know becomes particularly important after 1 October.

With Bustle, you choose Bustle because you want the hospitality tools that help you run a better hospo business.

Then you can choose your payment provider separately.

In Australia we integrate directly with providers including Zeller, Windcave, Tyro and Shift4, and you can use other payment solutions alongside Bustle too.

That means your payment rate can be something you actually shop around for.

One of the things we love about Zeller is its flat 1.4% rate for all in-person transactions - no different fees for different cards and no monthly terminal rental. That means fewer surprises and much easier budgeting and pricing.

That doesn't automatically mean Zeller will be the cheapest option for every venue. It means you have options.

And options give you something rather useful when talking to payment providers:
negotiating power.

So, do the math

Find your actual card processing rate. Not the one you vaguely remember signing up for five years ago. The one you're paying now.

Look at how much your venue processes by card each month.
Work out what that percentage costs you over a year.
Then add your POS costs.

That is the number worth comparing.

Because from October onwards, your customers aren’t covering that payment fee anymore.

And if the main reason you’re using your current POS is because it costs you $0 a month, it’s worth asking what you’re actually getting for free.

A free POS might process the numbers, but if it’s little more than a calculator - rather than a tool built to help you run a hospitality business - it could be costing you far more than a monthly subscription.

DO THE MATH.

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