Retail in Asia

In Shops

Aldi under fire on disclosure of credit card, tap-and-go fees

The corporate regulator is expected to grill Aldi over its failure to consistently notify customers of fees for using credit cards and "tap and go" cards, six months after the discount supermarket promised it had done so.

Aldi told the Australian Securities and Investments Commission it would improve its disclosure of the 0.5 percent surcharge by October last year, it is understood. It said it would do so through signs at the entrance of the stores and the registers, and by ensuring its cashiers notified shoppers before payments were made.

But Aldi supermarkets visited by Fairfax Media have not consistently disclosed the surcharge, leaving customers disappointed and irritated. Fairfax Media spoke to Aldi customers outside Melbourne stores on Wednesday and none knew about the fee or were informed by their cashier.

Aldi is the only supermarket chain to apply the surcharge on credit card and tap-and-go purchases. Woolworths, Coles, Costco and IGA supermarkets do not. Under the ASIC Act, a failure to adequately disclose surcharges, or creating the impression that surcharges do not apply, may be misleading or deceptive.