Banking and EFTPOS for treasurers

This guide is for club treasurers thinking about card payments or a cheaper bank account. It is general information, not financial advice. Prices and rates were read on 22 September 2026 and can change; each product links to its own page with the current figure. Before moving the club's account, treasurers commonly ask the bank three questions.

How clubs do it

1. Is there a branch or deposit ATM in the club's town or suburb? Clubs still take some cash.
2. Can online payments need two people to approve them? Most banks offer this, including CommBank through CommBiz, Westpac and NAB, as well as ANZ, BOQ, Bendigo, Auswide, Queensland Country Bank and Great Southern Bank. It is not always switched on, so it is worth asking.
3. What does the bank need to change signatories after each AGM?

The card surcharge ban

eftpos, Mastercard and Visa each brought in a "no-surcharge" rule from 1 October 2026. Amex and UnionPay did the same on that date, and PayPal from 5 October 2026. The Reserve Bank notes it "does not directly regulate merchants": this is a card-network rule, not a law. There is no exemption for not-for-profit clubs.

Booking fees and general service fees are not affected. A club that used to add a surcharge can absorb the cost or set its prices to cover it.

Card readers with no monthly fee

An example: $1,000 of green fees paid by card in a month at 1.4% costs $14.

Machines that charge rent

• The Bendigo or Tyro Pro Lite costs nothing to buy but $19 a month including GST, from the first month.
• The larger CommBank Smart machine is $29.50 a month.
• The ANZ Worldline Edge is $19.95 a month after three free months.

Suncorp Bank's merchant service closes on 11 December 2026. New applicants go to ANZ Worldline.

Setting up

A reader can run on a volunteer's phone, or the club can own a device kept at the clubhouse. The club decides who holds the login. Money usually arrives the same or the next business day, often faster when the reader and the account are with the same bank. Twin Rivers Croquet Club runs an EFTPOS machine, and its treasurer is in his eighties.

Club accounts with no monthly fee

How the club's money is protected

The Financial Claims Scheme, run by APRA, guarantees deposits up to $250,000 per account-holder at each bank. An incorporated club is its own legal entity, so the limit covers all the club's accounts at one bank together. Money above that is covered only when spread across banks.

Term deposits generally need at least $5,000, and rates move: see Westpac Business Term Deposits and the CommBank Business Investment Account. Suncorp Bank is moving into ANZ during 2027.

Banks that offer grants

• Bendigo Community Bank branches: see Bendigo Community Bank grants and raffles.
• Queensland Country Bank Good for Good Community Grants: up to $30,000. The round runs each year from July to mid-August. A club need not bank there to apply, but opens an account there to receive the grant.
• CommBank Staff Foundation: grants of $20,000.
• ANZ Community Foundation: grants up to $30,000.
• NAB Foundation: grants up to $25,000, for getting ready for or recovering from natural disasters only.

Where this comes from

1. Reserve Bank of Australia, Review of retail payments regulation: FAQs (checked 29 Oct 2026): the no-surcharge rules from 1 October 2026
2. APRA, Financial Claims Scheme overview: the $250,000 guarantee
3. Card reader and account prices: each provider's own page, linked in the tables (read 22 Sep 2026)
4. Suncorp Bank, Merchant services and ANZ, Suncorp Bank move to ANZ
5. Queensland Country Bank, Good for Good Community Grants