Every Nodo accepts electronic payment only. We don’t take cash, and we never add a surcharge. We’re allowed to do this, we tell you before you order, and the full legal position is set out below.
We absorb the card fees so you don’t see them. From 1 October 2026 a national ban on card surcharges takes effect across eftpos, Mastercard and Visa. We’ve always worked this way, so nothing changes for you.
People sometimes argue that because cash is “legal tender”, a business has to accept it. That is not what legal tender means. Here is the actual position, with the legislation.
Australian banknotes are legal tender under section 36(1) of the Reserve Bank Act 1959 (Cth), and coins under section 16 of the Currency Act 1965 (Cth). Legal tender governs how an existing debt may be settled. It does not require a business to offer its goods or services on cash terms in the first place.
When you order at Nodo, payment and your coffee change hands in the same moment. Nothing is left owing, so there is no debt for legal tender to discharge. Legal tender only bites once a debt already exists. Before that point a business sets how it will be paid, and we tell you we’re card only on our menus, at the counter and here.
The Reserve Bank of Australia states in its own legal tender guidance that refusing to accept cash “is not unlawful”, and that a business may set the commercial terms of payment before a sale is entered into. A card only venue is squarely within the law.
The same Act people quote at us also limits cash. Under section 16, any mix of 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins is legal tender only up to $5, and $1 and $2 coins only up to ten times their face value. A business can lawfully refuse a jar of five cent coins. Anyone insisting legal tender is an absolute right is quoting a statute they haven’t finished reading.
From 1 January 2026, the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Cash Acceptance) Regulations 2025 require certain businesses to accept cash. They apply only to grocery and fuel retailers, for in person payments of $500 or less, between 7am and 9pm, and they exempt small businesses under $10 million turnover. Cafés and hospitality venues are not covered.
Parliament had to pass a law in 2026 to make supermarkets and petrol stations accept cash. You don’t legislate to compel something that is already compulsory. That law existing is the proof: every other business, cafés included, is free not to take cash.
Only carrying cash? Let our team know and we’ll help you pay by card or phone. Most people have a wallet on their phone or watch already, and we’re happy to walk you through it.
Sources: Reserve Bank Act 1959 (Cth) s 36(1); Currency Act 1965 (Cth) s 16; Reserve Bank of Australia, legal tender guidance (banknotes.rba.gov.au/legal/legal-tender); Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Cash Acceptance) Regulations 2025 (in force 1 January 2026), Federal Register of Legislation; Reserve Bank of Australia card surcharge ban, effective 1 October 2026.
This page explains Nodo’s payment policy and the law it relies on. It is not legal advice. Last updated June 2026.
