Restaurants, cafes warn debit surcharge ban will increase menu prices
Restaurants and cafes across the country disagree with the Albanese government’s proposal to ban the surcharging of debit card payments and warned menu prices would have to rise to protect thin profit margins in the hospitality industry.
The Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association, in the first submission to the Reserve Bank’s payments consultation, said the move would put more pressure on inflation as costs are recovered in other ways. It would also jack up surcharges on credit cards, which are outside the proposed ban. Almost 40 per cent of restaurant meals are paid for on a credit card.
Australians don’t want to do the work’: Top restaurants slam migration crackdown
Leading Sydney restaurateurs say Australians don’t want to work hospitality jobs, voicing concern the federal government and opposition’s vocal efforts to slash migration and curb foreign students are stifling their industry.
Payments Forum on attack on interchange
Interchange will be in the spotlight in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s upcoming review of payments fees and payments regulation.
One influential lobby group has placed interchange front and centre in its submission, one the Independent Payments Forum sums up as “a plan to cut $3 billion in card and mobile payment fees.”
Neil Perry AM and Wes Lambert MAICD lead hospitality sustainability effort
Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association CEO Wes Lambert MAICD and its chair, renowned chef Neil Perry AM, are on a mission to ensure a sustainable future for the hospitality sector.
The Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association has warned tens of thousands of Victorian businesses will suffer if the state government pushes ahead with its plan.
The Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association chief executive Wes Lambert said the industry “supports sustainability” but warned tens of thousands of businesses would suffer if the state rushed the move to phase out gas.
“Any changes could be disastrous for Victoria’s hospitality sector,’’ he told the Herald Sun.
“If they plan to ban gas by 2030 we believe it will be nearly impossible for businesses to convert to electric, it will require lengthy council approvals and in addition could lead to clashes between landlords and businesses about who will bear the cost of converting.”
Aussies Memo to PM Stop Swanning Around the Globe
“Anthony Albanese has left the hospitality industry dying of hunger and has certainly not focused attention on the cost of doing business,” said Wes Lambert, CEO of the Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association, and said that restaurants were hurting due to energy prices and uncertainty around migration rules”
“ The hospitality industry would have expected the prime minister to be at bat rather than gallivanting around making deals that may or may not come to fruition”
Fine Food Australia Announces Partnership with The Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association
Fine Food Australia, the country’s leading trade show for the foodservice and hospitality industry, is proud to announce its partnership with the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association (ARCA).
Launched in May, ARCA is an instrumental voice for positive change in the restaurant and cafe segment of the Accommodation and Foodservice industry.
Council slammed over ‘out of touch’ $21,000 fee for struggling industry: ‘Read the room’
A Sydney council has been called out for an expensive fee handed to hospitality venues that want to have outdoor dining. As the summer months approach, restaurants, cafes, pubs and other establishments will be full of customers wanting to have a drink or bite to eat outside.
But if you’re in the Northern Beaches Council, that privilege comes with a hefty price tag, with one cafe being charged $21,000 for the year to have seats and tables outside. Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association CEO Wes Lambert told Yahoo Finance so many venues are on the brink of collapse and this is just another nail in the industry’s coffin.
Melbourne menu prices soar but restaurants struggling to turn a profit
Australian Restaurants and Cafe Association chief Wes Lambert warned customers would need to adapt to inflated prices as the economy recovered.
“Once the economy begins to recover, restaurants and cafes around Australia may need to increase their prices to survive, as according to IBISWorld data, restaurant profits are averaging 4 per cent,” he said.
“And if diners want their favourite cafe to stay open, they may have to foot the bill.”
RBA puts payment industry on notice to protect shops, restaurants
It was a similar view from the Australian Restaurant and Café Association. “Our fear is the government will ban surcharging – passing those merchant fees on – but not stop banks and payment service providers charging restaurants and cafés the same percentages,” said its chief executive, Wes Lambert, warning of “tremendous unintended consequences”.