Australia's payment reforms were designed to save consumers roughly $1.6 billion a year, but salon owner Sheridan Shaw has already raised her prices to cover fees the new rules stop her passing on.

The Reserve Bank's sweeping changes to credit and debit card surcharging cut the cap on interchange fees paid from businesses to banks, yet some fees remain and can no longer be itemised to customers. For Shaw, absorbing the residual cost was not an option.

"Being able to absorb that cost would be detrimental to our business currently," she said. "[I'm] stressed to the nines ... it's a pretty scary time."

The revised fees from banks and payment providers will now be built into her pricing. Shaw ruled out shifting clients to direct debit bank transfers as a workaround, citing reconciliation burdens and the risk of chasing failed payments.

"There's no way that we would personally do a pay ID bank transfer because from a reconciliation perspective and having to chase a customer for a failed payment, that is my worst nightmare when it comes to our client experience," she said. "We need to accommodate our client that is already struggling with their finances."

The sector's peak body reports the same anxiety across the country. Fiona Beamish, chief executive of the Australian Hairdressing Council, said the hardest part is the client conversation.

"There is some fear, and I suppose where that comes from is the ... conversation that has to happen with their clients," Beamish said. "The clients are expecting to now not be charged this particular surcharge ... but it is really tough on business to be able to communicate [a price rise]."

'No real winners'

The Reserve Bank maintains the interchange fee reduction will save businesses $910 million a year. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry disputes that figure.

"The reality is that for small businesses in particular, this won't save them money," ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar said. "There are no real winners in any of this because the costs will still be there. Some small businesses are going to have to absorb those costs, and in some cases, it's just going be passed through still to consumers."

McKellar also criticised the Australian Taxation Office for banning credit card payments from November 30.

"It's unacceptable. It's a staggering double standard that demonstrates a complete lack of concern and care for what small businesses are going through," he said.

Restaurant owner Peter Papas has raised prices to cover payment fees and worries some customers will stop coming. "We've got a lot of support but at the end of the day, when people can't pay anymore, they stop showing up," he said.

Papas expects venues to raise item prices beyond the exact micro-percentage of the previous surcharge because of price rounding — for example, lifting a coffee from $4.80 to a flat $5.00. He rejected cash discounts and card bans as impractical.

"Offering cash discounts or banning certain credit cards is impractical and denies the consumer the flexibility of paying however they wish," he said. "The irony in all of this now is that if you are wanting to pay cash as a customer, you are now subsidising credit card infrastructure providers, because everyone has adjusted their menu."

Consumer reactions are mixed. "Yeah look it's not great, because obviously businesses then feel like they need to increase their prices," one woman told ABC News. Another man said the charges would not change his buying habits.

Flow-on costs to housing

Simon Croft of the Housing Industry Association warned the changes could push up building costs. "If manufacturers, suppliers and merchants can no longer recover payment processing costs through surcharges, there is a risk those costs become embedded in the underlying price of building materials, products and services," he said. "Any additional cost entering the supply chain ultimately adds pressure to housing affordability."

Although most direct payments in residential construction run through fee-free bank transfers, Croft noted the sector depends on fewer, higher-value transactions, where even small percentage fees compound on expensive materials.

"There remains significant unknowns about how a credit card surcharge ban would operate in practice," Croft said. "Government focus should be on reducing the underlying cost of payments and the broader cost of doing business, particularly for small businesses."

Enforcement has also shifted. Until now the ACCC policed surcharging provisions under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010; from this week, card networks and payment service providers carry that responsibility.

With price rises now landing on service menus across Australia, salon owners like Shaw will be watching whether clients accept the new numbers — or walk.