Canberra, Oct 15 (IANS): The Australian government has announced a crackdown on card payment surcharge fees.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Stephen Jones announced that the government is prepared to ban debit card surcharge fees at the point of sale from 2026 subject to further work by the central bank the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

In the meantime, they committed 2.1 million Australian dollars (US$1.4 million) in funding for consumer watchdog the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to tackle excessive surcharges.

According to the RBA, which is responsible for regulating payment systems, Australians lose a combined 960.2 million AUD (US$645.6 million) every year in card payment surcharges, Xinhua news agency reported.

"My government's number one priority is to ease the cost of living for households and businesses, and this is another step to protect Australians," Albanese said in a statement on Tuesday.

The RBA is currently conducting a review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging.

Chalmers said on Tuesday that the government's proposed ban would be subject to safeguards to ensure that small businesses and consumers can both benefit from lower costs.

Andrew Irvine, chief executive of the National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia's "big four" banks, told a parliamentary inquiry in August that surcharges are outdated and called for them to be banned.