All merchants that have existing point-of-sale terminal facilities and do not sell alcohol, tobacco products, gambling goods/services, or gift cards will automatically be able to accept the SmartCard as a payment method. There is no additional hardware, software or training required for a merchant that does not sell restricted goods and services (as defined below).
Merchants whose main business is in the sale of restricted goods and services will automatically be blocked from accepting SmartCard payments (e.g. casinos, TABs, liquor stores). Merchants who sell both restricted and unrestricted goods and services can enter into a Mixed Merchant Agreement or Merchant Participation Agreement if they wish to accept the SmartCard. Signing this agreement means that restricted goods sold at the business will not be sold to participants who present a SmartCard for purchases. Merchants can also opt not to enter into an Agreement, which would mean the business may be blocked from accepting the SmartCard.
Using the SmartCard at point-of-sale terminal devices
A merchant should only process the SmartCard when the payment network is operational and not when the payment network is offline.
The SmartCard also has a contactless payment feature. If a cardholder has turned on the contactless setting, they will need to make one PIN transaction before they can start using tap to pay. After this transaction, they can pay by tapping their card on a payWave enabled terminal and wait for the transaction to be confirmed. There is no need for the cardholder to enter their PIN for purchases of $100 or less (or $200 or less at some businesses) once the initial eftpos transaction and PIN has been processed.
Restricted goods and services
For the purposes of the SmartCard enhanced Income Management program, restricted goods include:
- Alcohol
- Tobacco products
- Pornography
- Gambling goods and services
- Cash-like products, gift or prepaid cards that allow cardholders to access cash or purchase alcohol or gambling products
- Any other goods or services determined by the Commonwealth of Australia in accordance with the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth).
Blocked Merchants
Merchants can be blocked from accepting SmartCard payments for several reasons:
Their main business is the sale or provision of restricted goods and services
The merchant sells a mixture of restricted and unrestricted goods, but has opted not to be part of the program
The merchant is participating in ongoing circumvention of the program. You can find a list of blocked merchants here.
Please note: SmartCards are accepted at any physical or online business or store that is not on the Blocked Merchants List, and does not primarily sell restricted items.
Participating Mixed Merchants
Some merchants selling a mixture of restricted and unrestricted items (such as pubs or sports clubs) have signed an agreement to accept the SmartCard. SmartCards can be used at these businesses to purchase unrestricted items. View the list of Participating Mixed Merchants who have signed an agreement and accept the SmartCard.
