Save on contactless debit card transaction costs.

Running a business? Ringing up lots of payments? Least Cost Routing (LCR) could lower the cost of accepting debit cards, helping your business save money.

LCR
Lower cost of acceptance adds up to business savings
Security
Transaction security isn’t compromised
Tried and tested
Tried and tested with over 90,000 Aussie merchants

What is Least Cost Routing?

Even if transaction costs are small, they can really add up. We don’t want you to pay more than you have to, which is why we offer Least Cost Routing (LCR). This directs all your contactless debit card payments to the most cost effective channel - and it means you could reduce your contactless debit transaction costs.

How it works

Around 70% of Australian transactions are made with debit cards1 - and more than 35 million of these debit cards are contactless-enabled ‘dual network’ cards2. Dual network means they can be used to make transactions through eftpos, or an international payment scheme. When your business is LCR-enabled and a customer taps a dual network card, the transaction will automatically be routed through the most cost-effective network. 
 

 

How do I get started?

Chat to your bank or whoever’s providing your current card payment capability. Once you know the details of your current fee structure and whether LCR is right for your business, you’ll be able to find out what you could save.

What to ask your bank

Wondering what you could save?

Here’s what it looks like for a few businesses already routing.

Groceries
A local supermarket

Average basket size = $44

Savings = $26,568 p.a.†

Service Station
A petrol station

Average sale = $44

Savings = $13,284 p.a.†

Newspaper
A newsagency

Average sale = $36

Savings = $3,188 p.a.†

Success stories worth sharing

“We have been customers of Suncorp for many years and have benefited from their lower rates. We changed to Least Cost Routing in June 2019, and noticed a decrease in merchant costs of 23%. Unfortunately, like many retailers our merchant costs rose with the impact of COVID. In July 2020, Suncorp changed their Least Cost Routing charges. Our merchant fees decreased by 19%. Comparing our now costs to those when we first changed to Least Cost Routing our fees have decreased over 35%. For us this has equated to savings of hundreds/month. You just need to do the sums to see the benefits.”

Susanne Brough

Rode News

“We estimate that we’ve saved over $50,000 [a year], and those savings we reinvest in the business to provide more services and better quality services.”

Arthur Argyropoulos

CEO of CabFare

FAQ

Least Cost Routing (LCR), also known as Merchant Choice Routing, allows retailers and merchants to channel contactless transactions from dual network debit cards via the lowest cost payment network (in most cases eftpos). You can find more info here.

Chat to your bank or card payment services provider, and ask them to give you a proposal that incorporates Least Cost Routing into your current arrangement. Read our guide for what questions to ask your bank.

Potential savings will vary depending on your situation, and the terms you’ve agreed on with your acquirer (the bank or provider that enables your card payments).

Yes. For eftpos transactions, chargeback rights cover the full range of losses required by the ePayments Code.

Thousands of merchants across Australia already have Least Cost Routing  successfully up and running, with no discernible difference in how things operate for merchants or customers (apart from the benefits). 

Currently Least Cost Routing only applies to dual network debit cards in Australia – so the savings don’t apply to credit card transactions.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has been pushing for Least Cost Routing to be rolled out for a number of years. This is mainly because it supports Australian businesses by boosting competition in the payments space, helping to drive down costs. You can learn more about this here.

No, they won’t. While insurances on debit cards are very rare, currently available information suggests they are offered at an account level rather than a network level. That means consumers should still be eligible for insurance benefits offered on dual network cards.

1 Kateryna Occhiutto, ‘The Cost of Card Payments for Merchants’ (Bulletin ISSN 1837–7211 (Online), Reserve Bank of Australia, March 2020) [20].

2 Source: eftpos statistics correct as at December 2020.

†Source: Based on RBA Payment Statistics provided in the RBA Bulletin, June 2021 and eftpos analysis.