Now, many are starting to agree with me that XChangeIT should be free for the users of this product. I said it for years and have not changed my mind. We are pleased to have been involved with XChangeIT from the start, even before it began processing Gordon and Gotch invoices in newsagencies electronically. Over the years, we have seen it deliver real value to the magazine channel, but that was years ago. The current charging model no longer stacks up, and the industry should review how this essential service is priced. The system that I have studied the most is the Ariba used by Coles, and I doubt the magazine companies charge Coles for their electronic invoices. Ariba is free to use.

Key Takeaways

• XChangeIT is an essential data exchange service
• Electronic invoicing is now standard practice across retail
• Newsagents fund a system that also benefits distributors and suppliers through cleaner data and lower admin costs.
• Fairness becomes a bigger issue when a retailer has no practical alternative to the service.
• Value-based pricing is easier to defend when a platform offers premium analytics, benchmarking, or decision tools.
• Industry review is warranted when essential infrastructure operates as a monopoly.
• Newsagents should push for transparent pricing, clearer value delivery, and independent review of access arrangements.

What Is XChangeIT and How Does It Work?

XChangeIT is the data exchange platform widely used in the Australian magazine supply chain to send invoices, return information, and other supply-related data between publishers, distributors, and retailers. First, it reduces manual data entry and supports faster, more consistent administration. For example, instead of a store owner manually entering 50 magazine titles into their inventory, they can use our POS System to populate the delivery data automatically.

Moreover, that operational role is real and worth acknowledging. The issue here is not whether XChangeIT is worth it, but whether retailers should still pay for access to a service that is now a standard business practice.

The first question many will ask is whether the charging is legal. The answer, I think, is YES, but that is not the point here. I am talking of fairness.
https://www.possolutions.com.au/blog/xchangeit-is-it-a-fair-and-reasona…

Why Are Newsagents Charged for XChangeIT Access?

Newsagents are charged for access because the platform was historically introduced as a specialised, premium technology solution for a complex problem. Then it was premium technology that was unusual, complex, and commercially distinctive.

Today, electronic invoicing and automated data exchange are standard operating tools across retail. Anyone with a simple accounting program, say like MYOB, for about eleven dollars a month can send invoices electronically. Our POS Systems allows our users to send electronic invoices free.

Is XChangeIT Now Essential Industry Infrastructure?

As an essential industry infrastructure, all market participants must use it to trade efficiently. Across the many retail sectors I have worked in, I have not seen suppliers routinely charge stores for receiving a standard invoice. Do you charge your customers to receive your invoices electronically? 

Then there is another issue. Magazine sellers are not just receiving data through XChangeIT; they are also sending information to the suppliers and distributors. Distributors benefit from cleaner returns, fewer processing errors, and more efficient administration. Yet the smallest business in the chain, the magazine seller, is being asked to bear the cost.

When Is a Separate Platform Fee Justified?

This separate platform fee would now be justified if XChangeIT delivered what it was originally promising to do: measurable, premium capabilities that go beyond standard transaction processing, say if XChangeIT delivered advanced analytics, stronger reporting, benchmarking, and practical marketing tools beyond basic transaction processing. I do not see anything happening here. Years ago, they started these projects. I can remember them collecting that data for mathematical studies, but nothing came of it despite some interesting results. 

The Fair Position for Newsagents

XChangeIT is playing an essential role in the magazine channel, and that contribution should be recognised. Newsagents should be asking for transparent pricing, clearer value delivery, and an independent review. You can read more here on the fairiness of XChangeIT.  I am glad now others are agreeing with me now.

Written by:

Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director of POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience, now retired and seeking new opportunities. He consults with various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.

List the top 4 markets or products your business services:

1. ………

2. ………

3. ………

4. ………

Now do a Google search and check the AI Overview,

Ask it for each of these markets or products
“Who are the best [markets/products] in [My Suburb]?”

Sample questions might be:

“Who are the best greeting card companies in Keysborough?”

“Who are the best pet food suppliers in Dingley Village?”

If your business isn't showing up in those answers, you’re quietly missing out on customers. Today probably about 20%.

Also check:

Is your shop’s name and address easy to see (or clearly linked to the product)?

Are your competitors more visible in the answer?

Try this today (it’s free and easy).

What Free Tools can you use now to help improve your score? 

These online systems pull from the exact same places. The main ones being 

Google Business Profile – your digital shopfront in searches and maps. This tells them where you are and what you sell.

Facebook Page – where people check hours, photos, and reviews.

Check the links to see what you can do now for free.

Click here for some ideas to talk about online
 

Many are missing out on a simple, high-margin product category that your customers already buy elsewhere. Why not put in a clothing range to boost your shop?

Key Takeaways

• Profit margins in utility clothing
• Strategic placement of weather-ready apparel near checkout zones drives high-value impulse purchases.
• Inventory testing involves launching just 6-12 apparel units
• Point of Sale (POS) analytics required.
• Staff training focuses on practical, weather-related conversation starters to encourage add-on sales.

Clothing Retail Expansion

Everyone needs clothes. It has better sales potential and margins than most products. For example, a $60 jacket with a $30 wholesale cost delivers far more profit than selling several magazines. Ultimately, clothing is a high-margin, everyday category.

Moreover, Australia's apparel market remains a stable investment for local shops.

Select the Right Clothing Category?

What you want is something that increases your average basket size by turning routine, low-spend visits into higher-value transactions. For example, a customer buying a birthday card would notice a lightweight jacket. If it's cold and wet, they will often grab it.

Utility clothing sells best because it solves immediate, everyday needs without requiring a changing room.

Clothes displayed by hanging save shelf space. Choosing the right clothing category involves picking a narrow, practical niche that matches your existing customers. Study similar retailers for proven, low-risk ideas.

How Should You Test a Clothing Range?

Testing a clothing range means starting small and measuring concrete results before committing to a larger order. For example, introducing just two jacket styles in limited quantities drastically reduces your financial risk.

Define a Test Range

Start your test with just 1–2 product types and 2–3 colours, for a total of 6–12 units. For example, order a handful of adult wind-resistant jackets and a matching kids' version. Treat this strictly as a 3-6 month seasonal test.

How Do You Source Clothing Brands for Your Shop?

Sourcing clothing brands involves partnering with wholesalers who can actively support you. For example, local Australian outerwear brands often supply boutique hardware stores or newsagencies without demanding massive minimum orders.

Where to Find Brands

Look for independent labels, outdoor brands, or local suppliers. For example, check a brand's website for "stockist" or "apply to stock" pages. When contacting them, always ask about minimum order quantities, delivery fees, and consignment options. Be careful, as in my experience, many of these suppliers will, if they think you do not know, try to get you to take unsalable stock. Most clothing suppliers are sitting on such stock. Conversely, you can get such stock at a very good deal. If so, they work well in a dump box.

What Pricing Strategy Works Best for Clothing?

Clothing pricing works best when you balance perceived affordability with strong retail margins. For example, a jacket bought for $30 wholesale can comfortably retail for $54–$66.

How Should You Display Clothing in a Store?

Clothing displays should be simple, highly visible, and tied directly to existing customer flow. For example, placing jackets on a small vertical rack near your greeting-card wall captures customers who are already browsing.

First, use folded-stack displays or small racks with clear, benefit-driven signage. For example, use a sign that reads: "Light wind-resistant jacket for school runs and park days." Keep the range feeling like a helpful add-on rather than a demanding fashion section.

Utility Clothing vs. Fast Fashion in Small Retail Stores

Utility clothing focuses on practical, weather-resistant garments designed for everyday use, while fast fashion offers trend-driven apparel with shorter lifespans. When comparing the two, utility clothing offers a longer shelf life, lower inventory risk, and higher, more consistent sell-through for non-fashion retailers.

A POS System Helps Manage Clothing Sales

Your Point of Sale (POS) system is very important here as clothing is such a specialised product with sizes, colours, styles, etc. It does not take much to have many combinations. Five sizes, male and female, five colours, and four styles give you 200 combinations. Automatically analysing sales data, predicting demand, and recommending reorder quantities across 200 combinations is a lot of work for a small department, and in clothing, you need to analyse in real time. You also need to be ruthless here in getting rid of unsellable stock, as it takes up a lot of room.

First, use your system's sales reports by SKU to eliminate guesswork. Our advanced POS systems will identify trends for you.

Conclusion

Clothing can increase revenue. Start small, focus purely on practicality, and let your POS System guide you.

Written by:

Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director of POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience, now retired and seeking new opportunities. He consults with various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.

Today, Australian businesses use AI for tasks such as drafting, reporting, analysis, and administration. You're probably one of them, but have you considered the risk of starting when your business information is outside the store's control? The problem, I am sure, is not foul play by the AI company but the storage of information. This is what many business people miss: where is the information in an AI service?

Key Takeaways

• Data movement risk: Online AI moves prompts and files into third-party systems, creating privacy, confidentiality, and retention risks.
• Control advantage: Local AI keeps prompts and files inside a business-controlled environment, giving retailers stronger control over access, logging, and deletion.
• Privacy obligations: Personal information in AI prompts can trigger Privacy Act duties about collection, use, disclosure, accuracy, and security.
• Commercial exposure: Confidential business information, such as supplier terms, pricing logic, and dispute strategy, can create serious risk even when privacy law does not apply.
• Shared access risk: Shared AI accounts can expose past prompts, uploaded files, and internal thinking to unauthorised parties.
• Tiered policy: The right answer for most retailers is not all-local or all-online.

What Is Local AI vs Online AI for Business?

Local AI is AI stored on your computer, and that runs on it. Right now, it's really hot with a lot of public interest. The two biggest advantages people see are cost and privacy. Today, local AI can deliver about 80% of what online AI companies can give you.

Let us discuss a real user case.

A staff member ask an AI tool to rewrite their reply to a customer complaint, what is being stored on the AI is the angry shopper's name and address.

How Does the Privacy Act Apply When Staff Uses AI?

Under the Privacy Act, which would apply to AI use if it involves personal information.

The government says you must take a careful approach to AI use involving personal information, conduct due diligence on the product, and build human control, privacy governance, and staff procedures around its use.

Where it is actually frightening is that AI hallucinates. In one study I saw, the rate was between 0.6% and 2.6% today. What happens if An AI hallucination incorrectly states a specific staff member was fired for theft. and that information gets out.

The other concern is that an AI can be very good at finding other information on a person, for example For example, a pharmacy collecting a patient's email for a receipt cannot legally dump email addresses into an AI tool to predict their future medical purchases. The Privacy Act restricts businesses from using data for secondary purposes without consent or an exception.

About business Confidential Business Information?

Confidential business information may include pricing policies, supplier terms, internal reports, and other factors that drive your commercial advantage. This data can create a serious risk when it leaves the business. For example, I remember a newsagent who was very upset when he discovered that a report showing his seasonal greeting card markup by supplier was given to another shop nearby.

What about using AI to prepare an email to a supplier, asking for an extension to pay because they do not have the money this week, and then it ends up with another supplier of theirs?

Shadow AI

Most people have one AI account for business. They then share it with everyone to use. We call this a Shadow AI account. In practice, it means everyone can see the information.

It may get worse, as many people today have smartphones and use them, which means your staff member has this confidential information stored on their AI account. I have no idea how to handle that problem.

How Long Do Online AI Providers Keep Your Information?

There are many pluses to storing this information for a long time. For example, in the above example, where a merchant is writing to a supplier for an extra month's credit, the merchant may need to refer to the letter in a few weeks. So you want it to stay as long as possible. Most suppliers claim they can keep it for 60 days, but I read that their internal logs retain it much longer. We do know from a case in the US that even after the user deleted the information, it was still stored officially for training purposes.*

We do know that AI companies do analyse your messages, not just for training purposes but also for some illegal activity such as paedophilia. How deeply they go, I do not know. Still, I remember how, a few years ago, people were complaining that Google Gemini was becoming unusable because it was so politically correct. The AI refused to label a drink by a hot chill dish by its name in a restaurant. What the AI companies do with the information they flag, I am not sure. It would be nice to know.

Can Using AI in a Legal Dispute Damage Confidentiality or Privilege?

Short answer: YES.

The police or courts can demand this information from you or the AI company. If you use an AI company under US law, they will have no problem getting it. If you use, say, a Chinese AI company, it may not be so easy for them to get it.

If you want to know more, check out the Federal Court of Australia, which published its Generative Artificial Intelligence Practice Note, GPN-AI, on 16 April 2026. This document sets clear expectations regarding the responsible use of AI during proceedings.

There is no problem in a judge ordering a retailer to disclose exactly which AI software they used to summarise thousands of pages of contested supplier invoices and to demand a copy.

Why Does Local AI Appeal to Privacy-Conscious Businesspeople?

The first point is that it limits the risk of third-party access to the data. Today, about 80% of all AI requests in large organisations go through their local AI. It gives the organisation direct ownership of its security and usage. It often allows you to know who asked and when.

AI Policy statement

Here is one I wrote; feel free to use it or modify it as you require.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Acceptable Use Policy

1. Policy Purpose
   This document defines how we may use artificial intelligence tools to improve efficiency while protecting customer privacy and commercial confidentiality. It establishes well-defined guidelines for tool selection, information handling, accuracy verification, and incident reporting. The policy will be reviewed to ensure compliance with current technical progress and regulatory requirements.
2. Scope of Policy
   It applies to all full-time employees, casual staff, contractors, and temporary personnel. It covers AI usage on company-owned devices, shop-floor tablets, cloud workstations, and personal devices used for work.
3. Approved Tools and Account Access
   Staff must exclusively use AI platforms authorised by management. The IT department maintains a register of approved tools with defined security certifications. Single sign-on credentials are required for all licensed accounts. Unapproved public applications need management approval first. Use of tools falling below minimum security thresholds will stop immediately.
4. Protecting Point of Sale Data
   Extreme caution must be exercised when exporting information from our organisation. This includes such things as raw transactional records, customer loyalty databases, and end-of-day financial summaries must never be uploaded to unapproved public platforms without prior sanitation. Personally identifiable information should be masked before export.
5. Human Review and Accuracy
   Artificial intelligence models frequently generate plausible but incorrect outputs, a process identified as hallucination. Each employee remains fully accountable for the accuracy of machine-assisted work products before the submission. We ask that if in doubt, you see management before release.
6. Incident Reporting and Consequences
   Any accidental data exposure involving AI platforms are required to be reported to the manager on discovery. Rapid reporting enables immediate containment, including session termination, cloud cache deletion, and customer notification if required.

Regards

Manager

Conclusion

An important AI question for a businessperson is who controls the information after it's entered into an AI. You must ensure your operational data remains secure. I suggest, for both cost and security, that you consider Local AI if possible. I discussed deployment of Local AI here.

Written by:

Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director of POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience, now retired and seeking new opportunities. He consults with various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.

Many customers still want to pay in cash. Many of these are finding that we are seeing shrinking cash access, fewer ATMs, and weaker retail banks slowly destroying our cash infrastructure.

Key Takeaways

• Cash Out Day 2026 takes place this year on Tuesday, 28 April
• It encourages Australians to withdraw physical cash as a public show of support for keeping cash available.
• Cash still matters to many local shoppers.
• A clearer political consensus is forming that keeping cash is important, but politicians will only push for it if voters and businesses visibly support it.
• Supporting cash can help your store signal convenience, reliability, and community values at a time when trust matters more than ever.
• The October 2026 surcharge changes will reshape payment habits, making it even more important to review your cash policy.
• A simple in-store promotion can help you back Cash Out Day

What Is Cash Out Day 2026 and How Does It Work?

Cash Out Day 2026 is an Australian campaign that encourages people to withdraw physical money on that day to show that cash still matters. In practical terms, shoppers are asked to visit an ATM or a bank branch on Tuesday, 28 April, and withdraw some money as a simple public signal that they want cash access protected.

The campaign speaks to a larger concern. Many Australians can see that access to cash is slowly shrinking, with fewer bank branches and fewer ATMs. This is about sending a message to banks, payment providers, and governments that cash still plays a real role in everyday life.

Importantly, there is also a political angle retailers should not ignore. A clearer political consensus is emerging. Politicians can see that many feel that keeping cash is important. They can see voters push back against branch and ATMs closures. But let us face it, politicians respond to visible public pressure. If they do not see shoppers and businesses actively supporting cash, many will move on to other issues. Policy usually follows pressure, not silence. Silence will cause the issue to fade. For example, if a local MP hears complaints from traders and residents about ATM access, that concern stays alive; if nobody speaks up, it drops down the priority list.

Did Cash Out Day Achieve Its Goals?

Cash Out Day 2024 certainly raised awareness, but unfortunately, in 2025, it did not create the level of public momentum the organisers wanted. They thought it was because so much had happened that day, so people were distracted. I think it was partly because the date got mucked up. Moreover, last year’s poor result was likely due to many Australians believing the issue had already been handled. The government was then talking about protections for cash acceptance, so many assumed the problem was solved. Many of these people would be very disappointed now with what the government came up with. Actually, their proposals were considered disappointing, that it was defeated in the Senate.

How Can Your Store Promote Cash Out Day 2026 In Practice?

Promote Cash Out Day 2026 by making cash acceptance visible and normal, reassuring customers of your support for choice without conflict. A small sign, like “Cash welcome here on Cash Out Day, Tuesday 28 April,” can start conversations without overwhelming customers.

If you want to sign a petition that now has over 200,000 signatures, click here.

Conclusion

This year, Cash Out Day 2026 will hopefully be a practical reminder that cash still matters.

Written by:

Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director of POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience, now retired and seeking new opportunities. He consults with various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.

As a retailer, you need to keep records for years. Government regulations, legal needs, or even access to old customer data are all important! I sometimes had to access very old information just for commercial reasons, 20+ years ago.

Now, have you thought about how long your digital records will last?

Sadly, the hard drives and discs we use aren't built to last centuries, unlike the old carvings archaeologists have been uncovering up to today. Let's look into long-term storage, so you make the right choices.

How Long to Keep Retail Records

In Australia, retailers should keep POS system records, invoices, receipts, daily reports, and end-of-day summaries for at least five years. However, seven years is safer under Australian Tax Office guidelines. Keep payroll records for a full seven years, too. Extend that period if the records relate to assets, warranties, or legal disputes.

Here is a detailed table of the times required, I have put together and by who wants it 

Business Record Retention & Disposal Schedule

I will add that, personally, I am not in favour of deletion unless you have to, as you never know when you might need the information. For example, a client of mine is involved in a case linked to 2006. When records this old are missing, courts accepted that as reasonable, but then it becomes their word against the other party's. This is not a good position to be in! 
 

We call this a Potential Litigation Hold.

What Lasts, What Doesn't, and How to Make it Better

• Cloud storage: Theoretically, it lasts forever, but there will be issues.
• Magnetic Tapes to the Rescue? These can, under ideal conditions, last a long time, but few of us actually have the specialised equipment. Besides, it's often a pain to use.
• Old-fashioned Hard Drives: Most last about 3-7 years, though a lucky few last longer. To keep them, you need to use them; otherwise, they deteriorate after about two years.

• Optical Discs: Please aim for quality; write-once media like Verbatim Gold have longer longevity, and the cheaper ones have much less. For CDs and DVDs, you are looking at 5 to 100 years, depending on the type. When I went to the Verbatim website and looked at their warranty here, I noticed they only offer a 2-year warranty, which does not include a data retention guarantee. The courts may have something to say about that, but few people want to have to argue this in court.

Most people today, when considering very long-term storage, look to DVDs because they are both convenient and economical. If you go this route, here is how to do it:

Protecting Your Precious Data on CDs and DVDs:

It depends on three main factors:

1. Have more than one backup. I argue that you do not have a backup if you have only one. These two backups should be stored in different locations so that if anything happens to one, the other is safe elsewhere.
2. You need good-quality DVDs. There are good reasons why they are a bit dearer. This comes from a Canadian government study, which you can find here.

3. Environment matters! Pick a place:

• Cool & Dry: Store items at around 20°C with about 40% humidity.

• The Dark Side: Store discs in cases out of direct sunlight. I put a sealed plastic bag over them.
• Peace & Quiet: Avoid putting the discs where they will be moved or dropped.

Using DVDs for archiving business and POS records has distinct advantages and drawbacks, especially compared to modern hard drives or cloud storage.

Pros of DVD Storage

• Long lifespan: High-quality, archival-grade discs (such as those with a gold metal layer) can last 50 to 100 years when stored in the right environmental conditions.
• Tamper-proof: Standard recordable DVDs (DVD-R or DVD+R) are write-once media, meaning that once your data is burned onto the disc, it cannot be accidentally deleted, overwritten, or infected by ransomware.
• True offline security: DVDs provide "air-gapped" cold storage. Because they sit on a shelf rather than being connected to a network, they are completely immune to online hacking or cloud policy deletions.
• Excellent for chunking: DVDs are great for archiving specific, yearly projects (like a disc labelled "FY2025 Accounts"); other methods, like the cloud, tend to mix up your data.

Cons of DVD Storage

• Low capacity: A standard DVD holds 4.7 GB, dual-layer 8.5 GB. Suitable for text reports and spreadsheets but insufficient for larger files, requiring the management of multiple discs.
• Slow write speeds: Burning data is slower than on fast SSDs and USB drives.
• Vulnerable to damage: DVDs degrade within 5-10 years due to heat, humidity, sunlight, or scratches, often going unnoticed until it's too late.
• Limited hardware support: Modern computers rarely have built-in DVD drives.

Cloud Storage

As the limitations of physical storage have become increasingly apparent, cloud storage emerges as a compelling solution for preserving your digital legacy. In theory, entrusting your data to a reputable cloud provider can overcome many of these problems.

Pros:

• Accuracy: Today, many Cloud storage providers offer an astonishing rate of accuracy in their storage capacity. One I saw doing an online search offering 99.999999999% (that's 11 9s!) data durability. That far exceeds the reliability of any physical media.
• Dispersed storage: Many Cloud providers store your data across multiple geographically dispersed data centres, ensuring redundancy and resilience.
• Easy access: Your data is available on demand from any internet-connected device, anytime, anywhere.

Cons:

• Cost: Generally, it costs, though many, like Google and Microsoft, offer a limited free plan.
• Future uncertainty: Considering the time frame we are looking at here, a cloud provider could go out of business, change its policies, and who knows what else.
• Policy: Some cloud providers, e.g. Google, state that they "reserve the right to delete an inactive Google Account and its activity and data if you are inactive across Google for at least two years." So every two years, you have to log in to your account and say, "Hey, this account is still active." It's not a big ask, but it's not entirely set-and-forget.
• Remembering passwords: Cloud accounts rely on account names, passwords, and, increasingly, mobile numbers. Over the next 10 to 20 years, how will you remember these details? Will you have the same mobile number then? If someone else has access to your account and its passwords, they can also access your data.
• Control: In an overall sense, you do lack control.
• Privacy concerns: Be aware of potential changes in data privacy laws or a provider's terms of service. Although few of my clients have an issue here now, the privacy laws are slowly turning to the idea that much data businesses store must be held in Australia, not an issue now, but who knows in 10 to 20 years.

Summing up:

Overall, my preference would be to burn two copies of my business records onto a good-quality DVD. Put them with your business records in a safe place in your house in a protective box, as seen here:

I would then put a copy on a free service like Google, which I could access anytime, anywhere.

If you decide to go this route, here is a suggested policy

Management of Archived Physical Media (DVD/CD)

Effective Date: [Insert Date]

Objective: To ensure business compliance with the Privacy Act 1988 and ATO record-keeping requirements when using non-rewritable storage media.

Access Controls (Security)
Physical Lockdown: All archived DVDs containing personal or financial information are stored in a secured room, fireproof cabinet or safe.

Restricted Access: Only [Insert Job Title, e.g., Business Owner] is authorized to access the archive.

No Active Use: Staff are strictly prohibited from accessing, copying, or disclosing personal data from archived discs for marketing or general business operations.

Labelling & Warning
Every archived disc or its protective sleeve must be clearly labelled with a Generic Warning.
Label Template: “ARCHIVED DATA: [Year Range]. Contains personal information. Access restricted. DO NOT USE. 

Final Disposal (Destruction)
If you decide to destory the disc, it must be irretrievably destroyed. 

Note: Simply throwing a disc in the general waste or scratching it by hand is not sufficient.

Conclusion

Long-term record storage isn't just about compliance; it's about keeping your retail history available and trustworthy for years to come.

Want to get your data storage sorted? Contact us for a free consultation!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can I leave my POS backups on a USB thumb drive in a drawer?
A: No, I highly advise against this. USB flash drives use similar technology to SSDs. If sitting unpowered in a draw for years, they can lose their charge, and your data may silently corrupt or vanish. They are great for moving files around today, but terrible for 10-year storage.

Q: Does the ATO accept digital copies, or do I need the original paper receipts?

Q: What is the best brand of DVD for long-term archiving?
A: Look for "Archival Grade" or "Gold" DVDs. Brands like Verbatim (specifically their Gold Archival range) or CMC Pro are widely trusted. They use a gold reflective layer that resists oxidation and degrades much better than the cheap silver discs you buy in bulk at the supermarket.

Q: Is it enough to email the backup to myself?
A: I do that, and it's okay for a quick, temporary backup, but it shouldn't be your only long-term strategy. Emails can be accidentally deleted, end up in junk folders, or become inaccessible if your email provider changes policies or you get locked out of your account 10 years from now.

Written by:

Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director of POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience, now retired and seeking new opportunities. He consults with various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.

Every time a customer taps their card at your counter, a slice of that sale quietly disappears into the banking system. Currently, many recover some of that expense through a checkout surcharge. Here, I will show you exactly how to use your POS System to protect your margins as the 1 October 2026 surcharge ban deadline hits.

Unlike many people, I was one of the few directly involved in the discussion about the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) ban on surcharges, and that is why, after reading some of their advice, which I found almost useless and self-serving, I wrote this article. 

Key Takeaways

• The 2026 RBA surcharge ban legally prevents retailers from passing card processing fees directly to customers at the checkout.
• Least-Cost Routing (LCR) directs debit payments to the cheapest network but requires manual activation by the retailer.
• Blended merchant rate plans will hide the proposed fee reductions unless retailers switch to interchange-plus pricing.
• Many fixed-price stock items force shops to absorb payment costs completely because retail prices cannot be raised.
• Premium reward credit cards remain highly expensive to process and will cut deeply into retail profits.
• No-cost EFTPOS providers must alter their entire business model, leaving retailers vulnerable to sudden fee introductions.
• Modern Point of Sale (POS) software allows retailers to find products that can absorb the price bump.

What is the 2026 RBA Surcharge Ban?

The 2026 RBA Surcharge Ban, effective October 1, 2026, prohibits Australian retailers from adding checkout fees to Visa, Mastercard, and EFTPOS transactions. This ensures consumers see a single final price without surprise charges. For example, a retailer can't add a 1.5% fee on a $20 book to cover banking costs. However, this ban only covers processing costs, not penalty rates for weekends or holidays. Retailers can still charge holiday surcharges if they are clearly disclosed, such as a 10% Sunday surcharge at a cafe, excluding card-specific fees. 

The RBA surcharge ban starts on 1 October 2026 for all domestic card networks.

The RBA combined a ban on interchange fees with mandated reductions, which are hidden charges your bank pays to card networks for transaction approval. For instance, the fee for verifying funds with Visa is capped at a lower rate.

Why the 2026 RBA Surcharge Ban Matters for Your Bottom Line

The 2026 RBA Surcharge Ban shifts the burden of payment processing directly onto retailers. This matters because the fundamental cost of processing electronic payments does not disappear; the RBA wants it to be an invisible operating expense. For example, a shop processing $500,000 in card sales annually will instantly lose $7,500 in pure profit if it previously charged a 1.5% fee to its customers.

Card payments cost the Australian economy over $1.6 billion annually.

Consequently, SMB shops face a structural disadvantage compared to massive supermarket chains. Large acquirers and major retail chains can negotiate ultra-low processing rates directly with banks due to their massive transaction volumes. For example, while an independent newsagency might pay 1.2% per tap, a supermarket giant next door might pay a fraction of a cent per transaction.

Are Cash Discounts Still a Legal Alternative to Surcharging After October 2026?

YES. Cash discounts remain a fully legal and compliant pricing strategy for retailers who want to encourage customers to use cash. The Reserve Bank explicitly allows businesses to display a standard shelf price and reduce it at the register for cash. For example, you can price a greeting card at $8.00 on the shelf, but program your pos system to automatically drop the price to $7.80 when the cashier selects the cash payment button.

However, relying on cash discounts is a severely limited strategy in today's digital economy. Almost all consumers have shifted overwhelmingly to cards, meaning a cash incentive will capture only a small percentage of your traffic. For example, putting up a sign offering a 2% cash discount will not convince many busy parents to walk to an ATM.

Therefore, cash discounts can make only a minor contribution to your overall margin protection strategy. You must combine this tactic with rigorous merchant-fee negotiations and smart inventory pricing to protect your entire business. 

Do Premium Reward Credit Cards Cost Small Retailers More After the Surcharge Ban?

Premium reward and corporate credit cards incur higher interchange fees than standard debit cards mainly because of their point structures, and under the 2026 surcharge ban, Australian retailers must absorb these costs now in full. These luxury cards fund their points programs by charging the merchant more. This practice should be illegal, as the merchant is being forced to pay the bank's marketing. The RBA did not seem to care about that.  For example, processing a standard EFTPOS debit card might cost your shop 14 cents, but tapping a platinum frequent-flyer credit card for the same purchase might cost you 80 cents.

Some shops will be hit much more if they sit in an affluent suburb, where customers are actively chasing airline points and cash-back rewards on every small purchase. For example, a customer buying a simple $5.00 newspaper might tap a corporate credit card, with higher fees.

However, because Amex has notoriously high fees and is not local, you will be legally permitted to refuse their cards. For example, you can stick a clear "No Amex" sign on your front door and configure your pos system to decline those specific cards automatically.

Are You Caught in the Blended Rate Trap for Merchant Fees?

This is important: blended merchant fees include the true cost of card processing by charging a flat percentage across all card types. Banks have been aggressively selling these simple flat-rate plans, but they are incredibly dangerous when the wholesale fees drop. 

The upcoming RBA wholesale caps will, as such, not automatically save you money if you remain on such a plan. When the government forces banks to lower their interchange fees, the banks may not be legally required to pass those savings on to retailers under flat-rate contracts. If so, the bank will enjoy a wider profit margin on your transactions while you continue paying the same 1.5% fee.

Therefore, you must contact your bank immediately and review your pricing. Ask about the "Interchange-Plus" pricing model. It is transparent and charges you the exact wholesale cost of the card plus a small, fixed bank markup. For example, on an Interchange-Plus plan, when the RBA drops the wholesale cost of a debit transaction, only then will your monthly merchant bill drop.

How Does Least-Cost Routing (LCR) Lower Debit Card Costs?

Least-Cost Routing (LCR) is a payment terminal feature that automatically directs debit tap-and-go transactions through the cheapest available network, typically EFTPOS, reducing per-transaction costs for Australian merchants. Almost all businesses will be better off under this scheme. However, most businesses do not have it, and, unfortunately, the Reserve Bank has not legally required banks to enable this money-saving feature. This means most retailers are currently paying higher fees simply because they have not activated it. If so, you must take proactive steps now to fix this in your business. Pick up the phone, call your EFTPOS provider, and explicitly demand that Least-Cost Routing be activated. If your provider refuses or claims their older terminals cannot support the feature, it is time to shop for a new EFTPOS provider immediately.

What Should You Do If You Use a No-Cost EFTPOS Provider?

If you are using a zero-cost EFTPOS provider, you are not actually getting free banking; your customers are simply paying your merchant fees via an automatic surcharge.

From 1 October 2026, the RBA will make it illegal to pass card fees directly to consumers at the point of sale. Because zero-cost providers rely entirely on consumer surcharges for their revenue, their current business model probably reverts to charging retailers directly. They cannot legally continue providing you with free hardware and 0% merchant rates.

Now, traditional banks can comfortably keep charging you a flat 1.5% merchant fee behind the scenes, and what you will see is that the zero-cost providers will rewrite their contracts. 

Recently, I contacted a major no-cost EFTPOS provider on behalf of my clients to ask about their business model after October 2026. They admitted they were still digesting the information and needed time to figure out their post-ban pricing strategy. 

Therefore, if you use one of these providers, you must demand answers about your future contract terms. I suggest contacting them in June after they have had some time to work it out. 

How Do You Handle Fixed-Price Inventory vs Flexible Inventory?

Fixed-price inventory is products you do not control, such as lottery tickets, goods with retail prices printed on them, etc. The retailer cannot adjust the shelf price. These items are considered the biggest problem now.

Consequently, you cannot treat your shop as a single, average-profit pool. You need to identify which departments can carry slightly higher prices without being aggressive. 

What Dates Should Retailers Put in the Diary?

We have a strict timeline due to regulatory deadlines, Unfortuanely they don't match retail realities. The government has created a transparency gap. The ban begins in October 2026, but major banks won't publish actual pass-through rates until late January 2027. This leaves you blind during Christmas.

Foreign card interchange caps take effect on 1 April 2027, but we are still awaiting details.

How Can Your POS System Automate Margin Protection?

Your POS system can act as your primary defence against shrinking retail margins. Rather than guessing which items can absorb price bumps, your software provides hard, irrefutable data on category profitability. For example, you can run a GMROI (Gross Margin Return on Investment) report to discover exactly which gift lines sell quickly at a high margin, marking them as prime candidates for a small price increase.

Furthermore, modern POS software allows you to execute these defensive strategies in bulk, saving you days of manual data entry. Once you decide to increase your novelty stationery category by 3%, the software does the heavy lifting. For example, you can use the bulk price update tool to instantly raise prices on 400 separate stationery items with a single click, instantly updating the barcode database.

Your POS system tracks changes in real-time, showing if adjustments like a 40-cent price increase for premium greeting cards impact sales. If sales stay steady, you've recovered fees without losing customers.

What Steps Should You Take Before October 2026?

Retrieve your latest merchant statement and scrutinise it immediately. This document holds your current financial exposure to card fees. For example, identifying exactly how much you pay in scheme fees, terminal rentals, and percentage rates gives you a baseline to measure any future bank promises against.

Next, execute this strict operational checklist to secure your business:

1. Contact your bank to confirm your current pricing model.
2. Demand written activation of Least-Cost Routing for all terminals.
3. In June, if you use a no-cost EFTPOS provider, find out their exact post-October fee structure.
4. Run category margin reports to separate fixed-price from flexible inventory.
5. Strategically raise prices on flexible, high-margin categories before August.

Finally, communicate with your staff so they understand why signage and checkout processes will change. For example, training your team on how to explain the disappearance of surcharges smoothly prevents awkward conversations at the register when the October deadline arrives.

Conclusion

The 2026 RBA surcharge ban is a profound structural shift that forces Australian retailers to manage hidden costs intelligently. While the government narrative focuses on consumer fairness, the reality is more than that.

Written by:

Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director of POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience, now retired and seeking new opportunities. He consults with various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.