Liberal leader Angus Taylor accused Anthony Albanese of lying after the Prime Minister posted a video on social media boasting that a ban on credit card surcharges would save you money “every time you tap” and claimed “from tomorrow, your morning coffee could be cheaper.”

Under a rule that began this week, businesses aren’t allowed to charge customers extra for paying by card.

With interest rates rising and inflation still high, the government is desperate to come up with positive news for consumers.

In response to the promotional video about the surcharge ban by the Prime Minister, Mr Taylor said businesses would have to cover the bank charges anyway, which meant that prices would not fall.

“Lies,” Mr Taylor said in response to Mr Albanese’s post on X. “Simply shifting costs around the economy doesn’t make families better off.”

Compounding the problem for businesses, the tax office said it would no longer accept payments by credit card.

The Coalition and One Nation immediately called for the decision to be reversed, arguing it was unfair on small operators who often relied on credit to keep their businesses operating.

“Small businesses use credit cards to manage cash flow,” One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said. “Taking away that option makes it harder to keep their businesses running.”

Mr Taylor said: “You couldn’t make it up.”

“While small businesses are being told to absorb the cost of accepting credit cards, his own Tax Office has decided it won’t,” he wrote on social media. “Instead, the ATO will simply stop accepting credit cards altogether.”

Presenting the change as help for people under financial pressure, Mr Albanese said card surcharges cost shoppers $1.6 billion a year.

“From today they’re banned, saving you money every time you tap,” he said in a post on Thursday, the day the new system began.

The government estimates 2.3 per cent of tax payments were made by credit card in 2024–25, although the figure is likely skewed by large corporations that pay by cash transfers.