Last month, CardUp announced that it would hike its service fees from June 2026, citing an industry-wide increase in card processing costs.
However, the only detail shared at the time was that the standard service fee would increase from 2.6% to 2.9%. While concerning, this rate was largely theoretical, given CardUp’s frequent promotions for rent, income tax, and other recurring payments. What everyone really wanted to know was how the promotional rates would be affected.
Well, CardUp has now announced its new promotional rates, and the changes are brutal. From 13 June 2026, fees will increase by up to 36% across all categories, with nothing less than 2.25%.
To put things into perspective, the highest promotional fee today is roughly on par with the lowest promotional fee going forward!
Details: CardUp’s revised fee structure
Here’s a summary of how CardUp fees will be changing for payments made from 13 June 2026 onwards.
| Standard Fee AMEX MC Visa |
2.6% | 2.9% +12% |
| Recurring Promo Visa |
1.85% | 2.35% +27% |
| One-off Promo Visa |
2.35% | 2.45% +4% |
| One-off Promo AMEX MC |
2.35% | 2.59% +10% |
| New Home Categories Promo Visa |
From 1.77% | From 2.28% +29% |
| Rent Promo Visa |
1.83% | 2.3% +26% |
| Reno Promo Visa |
2.1% | 2.39% +14% |
| Income Tax One-off Promo Visa |
1.73% | 2.35% +36% |
| Income Tax Recurring Promo Visa |
1.75% | 2.25% +29% |
| Income Tax Bonus Promo Visa |
1.77% | 2.3% +30% |
| International Payment Promo Visa |
1.85% | 2.35% +27% |
Fees are increasing by 4% to 36% across categories, and what’s more, the vast majority of promotions are for Visa cards only. If you have an American Express or Mastercard, the lowest rate you can hope for is 2.59%.
Of course, there may be targeted offers from time to time, but it looks to me like the days of sub-2% fees are well and truly over.
What about existing payments?
The most important thing to understand is that setting up your payments before the new fees come into effect does not lock in the current rates.
CardUp has provided the following transition timeline:
On 13 June 2026, all your payments will be automatically updated to the corresponding new code. For example, if I’m currently paying rent with the code RENT183 for a 1.83% fee, the payment arrangement will be updated to RENT23 with a 2.3% code on 13 June.
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