Australians are expected to spend more than $96 billion on their credit and debit cards over the festive season.
But what they might not know that this will include $650 million of hidden interchange fees that banks charge each other for use of their cards.
The fees are levied on retailers who often pass them onto consumers in the form of a surcharge or higher-priced goods.
Jost Stollmann, the head of financial products provider Tyro Payments, says these "Grinch-like" fees come at time when Australian banks are enjoying record-breaking profits.
He expects the issue will come to a head when the Reserve Bank's payments system board meets on Friday to decide the direction of interchange fees and argues in a submission that they should be abolished.
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"Consumers would enjoy relief from rising cost-of-living pressures, while retailers struggling in an increasingly competitive market would become more profitable and competitive," Mr Stollman said in a statement.
