Companies will flout credit card reforms Consumer group CHOICE says some companies, including Australia's domestic airlines, are already trying to flout the new rules which ban retailers from passing on excessive credit card surcharges to customers. Under the Reserve Bank of Australia reforms which come into effect Monday, retailers will be restricted by credit card companies to pass on surcharges to customers that reflect the true cost of providing the service. On average, this is less than one per cent for Visa and MasterCard and about two per cent for American Express and Diners Club. However, CHOICE Head of Campaigns Matt Levey says some companies, including Cabcharge - which has a 10 per cent surcharge for credit card payments - and Australia's domestic airlines are attempting to "sneak around" the rules by disguising their surcharges as booking fees or fees for financial services. Mr Levey says in the absence of a regulatory agency to oversee the new rules, the reforms are open to breaches and continued price-gouging. "We are looking forward to the end of sky-high surcharges, but we need enforcement action to ensure these outrageous fees don't live on under other names," Mr Levey said. Unfortunately, there is no official agency charged with enforcing the new rules, so it will be up to card companies along with consumers to take charge. Cabcharge did not return calls to Fairfax Media on Friday but as recently as three weeks ago, the group's founder Reg Kermode said he did not believe the RBA could force it to comply with the new rules. It is understood Cabcharge's 10 per cent surcharge contributed $90 million of revenue to the company in the 2012 financial year. On Friday, Visa published its new polices in response to the RBA reforms which aim to limit the fees its merchants can charge. Visa's country manager for Australia, Vipin Kalra said it had also developed a program to help retailers to comply with the new rules. In a statement to Fairfax Media, Jetstar acknowledged it no longer had a credit card surcharge, just a booking and service fee. But said it would study the card companies' new policies and then "determine whether changes were necessary." A Qantas spokesman hit back at the accusations of profiteering made by CHOICE, saying "Claims or estimates that we profit from our surcharges are simply wrong. The income we get from surcharges does not exceed our costs and never has done. One financial institution has estimated that Australian consumers could save up to $350 million a year if credit card companies force retailers to limit what they can charge consumers to use credit cards. "If excessive surcharging on all credit and debit card transactions was removed it would save the Australian consumer an estimated $350 million a year," Tyro Payments CEO Jost Stollmann said. He said Australians spent a staggering $440 billion on credit, debit and charge card transactions last year.