In order to settle the accusations that have recently been thrown its way by the Commerce Commission, MasterCard has announced that it has changed its regulations in order to allow New Zealand merchants and retailers to impose a surcharge whenever a MasterCard card is used in their outlets.

As per the new regulations, retailers who opt to impose surcharge are also required to inform their customers of the additional charges before the transaction is carried forward, and the amount of the surcharge must also bear a "reasonable relationship" to the merchant's cost of accepting the card.

MasterCard has said that it is strongly against surcharging and will take all necessary steps to ensure that it is prevented, mainly because it is anti-customer and also because retailer already receive significant benefits from accepting MasterCard cards.

The fact that most customers resent surcharges is very well-known, and this is the reason that it is banned in many countries.

MasterCard has urged customers to contact their banks, or the company directly at nz_contact@mastercard.com in case they feel that an extra heavy surcharge is being levied.