Surcharges on paying with a card are very annoying. I don't quite know why but I feel as though I'm being ripped off when I see those extra few cents added to the coffee bill in the morning. I saw the price on the board, and there it is on the card reader - plus a little bit extra. I can't defend my feeling but I don't like it.

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But since last Thursday those irritating surcharges have been banned - so are we still paying?

The truth is that we are - it's just that the charges might be taking a different form. I suppose there is half a chance that the shop has absorbed the charge it still has to pay to the bank, so its profits are lower.

And the banks say they have "cut these fees to some of the lowest levels in the world".

But there is evidence that the charge has often been passed on - do you need to be told that banks and credit card companies aren't charities?

One cafe in Victoria was honest about it, posting on Facebook: "Unfortunately, a small price increase has become unavoidable. We want to continue serving the same quality food and coffee you know and love," its posting said.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which is behind the change, was clear that this would happen, giving a hypothetical example: "A hair salon charges $60 for a haircut and currently applies a 1 per cent credit card surcharge."

But now the salon can't charge the surcharge so "the salon decides to incorporate its card processing costs into its overall prices. This would mean the price of the haircut would be $60.60".

Other shops think they've found a way around the ban. There are social media discussions citing companies which have suddenly introduced "service fees" and "daily surcharges".

The RBA is clear that this is not on: "Businesses shouldn't try to avoid the 'no surcharge' rules set by the Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos card networks by describing a card payment surcharge as another type of........

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