Merchant Fees in New Zealand: What Every Business Actually Pays

If you run a business in New Zealand, you pay merchant service fees on card transactions. But how much you pay depends on the card type, the bank, the terminal, and the pricing model — and most merchants have never seen the full picture. This guide lays out the actual numbers: what each card type costs, what the major banks charge, how much EFTPOS terminals really cost, and where you can save money. For a general overview of how merchant fees work, see What are merchant service fees?

Commerce Commission interchange caps

Interchange is the fee that goes to the cardholder’s bank on every card transaction. It is the largest single component of your merchant service fee — roughly 60% of the total. The Commerce Commission regulates these fees under the Retail Payment System Act. Here are the current caps:

In December 2025, in-person domestic credit interchange dropped from 0.80% to 0.30% — a 62.5% reduction. In May 2026, foreign-issued cards were regulated for the first time. Combined, these changes are estimated to save NZ businesses around $100 million per year, on top of the $140 million saved by the initial 2022 caps.

But interchange is only one layer. Your total merchant service fee also includes scheme fees (paid to Visa or Mastercard), network fees, and your acquirer’s margin. Whether those additional layers have dropped in line with interchange is another question.

EFTPOS insert vs contactless tap — the fee most merchants miss

This is one of the most misunderstood costs in NZ payments. When a customer inserts or swipes their debit card and selects “Cheque” or “Savings,” the transaction goes through the domestic EFTPOS network. No interchange fee. No scheme fee. The merchant pays nothing per transaction — only the fixed monthly terminal costs.

When the same customer taps the same card, the transaction routes through the Visa or Mastercard network instead of the domestic EFTPOS network. That triggers interchange (0.20%), scheme fees, and your acquirer’s margin. On interchange-plus pricing, that adds up to roughly 0.65% of the transaction value. On a blended rate, it could be anywhere from 1.0% to 2.5%.

Same card. Same bank account. Same money. But a tap costs you anywhere from 65 cents to $2.50 on a $100 transaction, while an insert costs you nothing. Most customers have no idea, and most merchants have never looked closely enough at their statements to notice.

What each card type costs you

Here is what a typical NZ merchant pays on a $100 transaction, including interchange, scheme fees, and acquirer margin:

These are indicative figures based on typical acquirer margins. Your actual rates depend on your provider and pricing model. A cafe in a tourist area accepting a lot of foreign credit cards will pay significantly more than one serving mostly local debit customers.

What the banks charge

No major NZ bank publishes its exact merchant service fee rates online. Rates are negotiated individually based on your transaction volume, card mix, and processing method. Here is what is publicly known about each bank’s merchant services.

ANZ merchant fees

ANZ offers both blended and interchange-plus pricing. EFTPOS transactions (where the customer inserts or swipes and selects Cheque/Savings) are free — no merchant service fee. For card transactions routed through Visa or Mastercard, the MSF includes interchange, scheme fees, network fees, and ANZ’s acquirer margin. Specific rates are described as “specific to your business and its setup.”

BNZ merchant fees

BNZ offers standard merchant services and has adjusted its rates following the December 2025 interchange cap reductions. BNZ has also launched Payap — a QR-code-based payment system that uses account-to-account transfers rather than card networks. Payap charges 0.39% for in-store transactions and 0.59% for e-commerce, with no monthly fees. It works on existing EFTPOS terminals and is compatible with all major NZ banks.

ASB merchant fees

ASB offers merchant services with rates adjusted for the December 2025 interchange caps. Windcave is no longer available for new merchant facilities through ASB. Specific MSF rates are not published; you need to contact ASB’s merchant services team for a quote.

Westpac merchant fees

Westpac offers both blended and interchange-plus pricing. Blended gives you a fixed MSF percentage with cost certainty. Interchange-plus gives you the actual interchange fee for each transaction plus a fixed Westpac margin, with interchange changes (like the December 2025 caps) automatically passed through. Westpac encourages IC+ for transparency but does not publish specific rates.

Kiwibank merchant fees

Kiwibank offers EFTPOS and merchant services. There is a minimum MSF of $20 per month for any month in which at least one Visa or Mastercard transaction is processed. Specific rates are not published and require contacting their merchant services team.

Across all banks, typical blended merchant service fees for domestic cards sit in the range of 0.7% to 1.5%. International cards are significantly higher, typically 2.5% to 3.7%. The average across all card types is roughly 1.0% to 1.3%.

EFTPOS terminal costs

The terminal itself is a fixed cost that sits on top of your per-transaction fees. For a practical guide to choosing a terminal and setting up your counter, see How to set up your counter for payments.

A standard leased terminal with network fees runs roughly $50–70 + GST per month before a single transaction. Over a year, that is $600–840 + GST in fixed costs alone. Add a mobile SIM for portability and the cost rises further. For a broader look at whether you still need a traditional terminal, see Do you still need an EFTPOS terminal?

Blended vs interchange-plus pricing

When you sign up for merchant services, you will usually be offered one of two pricing models.

Blended pricing gives you a single fixed percentage for all card transactions (or sometimes separate rates for debit and credit). It is simple and predictable. The downside is that lower-cost transactions (domestic debit at 0.20% interchange) subsidise higher-cost ones (foreign credit at 1.50% interchange). You pay the same rate regardless.

Interchange-plus (IC+) pricing charges you the actual interchange fee for each transaction plus a fixed acquirer margin. Your monthly bill is less predictable because the interchange varies by card type, but you pay the true cost of each transaction. IC+ is usually cheaper overall, especially as your volume grows.

This distinction matters more than usual right now. The December 2025 interchange cap reduction cut in-person credit interchange from 0.80% to 0.30%. On interchange-plus pricing, that saving flows directly to you. On blended pricing, your provider may or may not pass it through. If you are on a blended rate, it is worth calling your bank and asking whether your rate has been adjusted to reflect the new caps.

Payment processors and their published rates

Unlike the banks, some processors publish their pricing. Here is what the main players charge in New Zealand.

Square. 1.6% for card-present (tap or insert) transactions. 2.2% for card-not-present (online or keyed-in). No monthly fees, no lock-in contract. The Square Reader costs around $70 as a one-off purchase. Square acts as a payment facilitator — you do not need a separate bank merchant account.

Stripe. 2.60% + $0.05 for domestic in-person transactions (via Stripe Terminal). 2.65% + $0.30 for domestic online transactions. International cards are higher: 3.50% + $0.30 online, 2.70% + $0.05 in-person. Stripe is primarily used for online payments and app-based commerce.

Worldline and Verifone. These provide the EFTPOS network infrastructure and terminals, not direct acquiring. You need a merchant account with a bank (ANZ, BNZ, etc.) and then connect through their network. Their costs are the terminal rental and network fees listed above.

Windcave. A New Zealand–headquartered payment gateway offering both IC+ and blended pricing. Custom pricing is available for merchants processing over $50,000 per month. Like Worldline, Windcave requires a separate bank merchant account.

How to reduce what you pay

There are practical steps you can take to lower your merchant fees without changing your business model.

• Switch to interchange-plus pricing if you are on a blended rate. Call your bank and ask. After the December 2025 interchange reductions, IC+ almost certainly saves you money — and future reductions will flow through automatically.
• Review your blended rate. If you want to stay on blended for simplicity, at least ask your bank whether your rate has been adjusted for the new interchange caps. Do not assume it has.
• Understand your card mix. If most of your customers pay with domestic debit, your effective interchange is very low. If your blended rate is 1.5%, you may be dramatically overpaying relative to your actual interchange costs.
• Consider Open Banking. Bank-to-bank payments bypass the card networks entirely — no interchange, no scheme fees. The customer authorises the payment directly from their banking app, and the money moves from their account to yours. tapara uses Open Banking to offer merchants contactless payments at near-zero fees, with built-in loyalty and customer recognition on every transaction. For more on how Open Banking changes the fee equation, see What are merchant service fees? and our guide to Open Banking in New Zealand.

Get started

Understanding what you pay is the first step. The second is doing something about it. If you want to see how Open Banking payments and automatic loyalty work in practice, visit the businesses page or get in touch.