Filtering your People list by payment type takes about a minute, and tells you how many of your members are actually affected by the card surcharge change on 1 October 2026.
The size of that group can meaningfully affect how you decide to approach the change. Covering card fees for ten members is a different proposition to covering them for two hundred.
What's changing on 1 October 2026
From 1 October 2026, Australian businesses can't add a surcharge to eftpos, Mastercard or Visa payments. That covers both debit and credit cards on those networks. It's an industry-wide rule change from the Reserve Bank, not something specific to Clubworx or to your payment provider. The RBA's FAQ has the full detail.
Two things it doesn't cover:
- Direct debit from a bank account. The ban applies to the designated card networks, so members paying by bank account aren't part of this change.
- American Express. Amex isn't covered by the RBA's ban, though it has said it will stop allowing surcharges from the same date. If you accept Amex, check where your payment provider stands.
The processing fees themselves don't go away. From 1 October you either absorb them or build them into your prices.
Why it's worth checking before you change anything
If only a small share of your members pay by card, raising prices across the board means most of your members pay more to solve a problem they aren't part of. Absorbing the fee may cost you less than the goodwill does. If most of your members pay by card, the sums look different.
Either way, the decision is easier with the actual number in front of you.
How to check in Clubworx
1. Open the People page
Go to People. The number beside the Members tab is your starting point: everyone with a membership, whatever its status. Prospects and non-attending contacts are counted separately, in their own tabs.
2. Filter to active members
Under Membership status, choose Active. The Members count updates to show only members on a current membership.
That's the number to use as your denominator. Cancelled and suspended memberships aren't being charged, so counting them makes your card share look smaller than it is.
3. Add the card filter
Under Payment type, choose Card. The count now shows how many active members pay by card.
4. Work out the share
Divide the second number by the first.
24 active members paying by card ÷ 66 active members = 36%
Worth doing while you're in there: switch Payment type to Missing to find anyone with no payment method on file. Those are worth tidying up whatever you decide about pricing.
A note on credit versus debit card
You don't need to separate them. The ban covers both debit and credit cards on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, so the Card filter already gives you the group you need.
Working out what it's costing you
Your card processing fees are set by your payment provider, not by Clubworx. You'll find your rate on your provider's fee schedule or in your merchant agreement.
Once you have it, the sum is:
members paying by card × their average payment × your card fee rate
So if 90 of your members pay by card, they average $30 a week, and your card fee is 2%, that's $54 a week, or roughly $2,800 a year. Swap in your own numbers.
The annual figure is the one to hold on to. It's what absorbing the fee actually costs you.
Things to weigh up
- How big the affected group really is. Fifteen per cent of your members on card is a different problem to seventy per cent. The smaller the group, the harder it is to justify moving everyone's price.
- Whether a price rise is really about surcharges. Plenty of gyms are due for an increase anyway. If you haven't moved your prices in two years, 1 October is a convenient moment, and it's worth being clear with yourself about which conversation you're having.
- What you tell members. Your membership terms and the direct debit agreements members signed will usually set a notice period. Work back from that: if you owe 30 days, a change starting 1 October needs to go out by the start of September.
- Whether to encourage bank account direct debit instead. Members paying from a bank account are not affected by this change, so every member who moves across reduces the fees you are covering. The Card filter gives you the list to work from. It's a slower lever than a price change though, because each member has to update their own details, and not everyone will choose to do it.
- That doing nothing is a decision. If the annual cost is small against your revenue, absorbing it quietly may well be the right call.
If you decide to change your prices
Changing the price on a membership plan affects new sign-ups only. Members who've already signed up keep the price they joined on, including anyone on a negotiated or discounted rate, so existing members need updating separately.
Further questions? Contact our team at support@clubworx.com.