In short
- Yes, you can use a debit card: Rentzy accepts a credit or a debit card for the bond, and the rent due at pickup can be paid by EFTPOS, card, cash or bank transfer.
- You pay an A$100 deposit online to book, counted towards your rent, then the rest of the first period and an A$500 bond at pickup.
- After the first period, rent is paid weekly in advance on the weekday the rental started; it's overdue after 3 days.
- There's no card surcharge at Rentzy, and from 1 October 2026 the major card networks' rules stop card surcharges generally.[1]
Can you rent a car from Rentzy with a debit card?
Yes. The bond can be paid with a credit or a debit card, at the counter when you collect the car. For the rent due at pickup, the rental terms list EFTPOS, card, cash and bank transfer, with no card surcharge (clause 3.2).
What a debit card changes is whose money is tied up, and for how long. That's covered further down, after the timeline.
What do you pay, and when?
| When | What | How |
|---|---|---|
| When you book | A$100 deposit, counted towards your rent | Online |
| At pickup | The rest of the first rental period, and the A$500 bond | At the counter: EFTPOS, card, cash or bank transfer (clause 3.2) |
| Each week after that | The next week's rent, in advance | Due on the same weekday the rental started (clause 3.3) |
| After the return | Any approved charges (fuel, tolls, cleaning, damage), taken from the bond first, after a 72-hour dispute window | Bond balance back within 7 business days, by the method it was paid (clause 4.2) |
Prices are in Australian dollars and include GST. No card surcharge. Every amount is also on the fees and charges page.
Rent isn't paid for the whole rental at once. On a weekly rental the terms make each week payable in advance, so a two-month rental is paid as it goes, one week at a time. What the total comes to over different lengths is in weekly vs monthly car rental cost.
Is it better to pay the bond by debit or credit card?
Either works at Rentzy; the difference is in your own finances. Moneysmart's comparison is a useful frame:[2]
- Debit card. You're spending the money in your account, so you can't run up a debt and pay no interest. But a bond paid this way leaves your everyday account until it's refunded. If you then spend more than is left, your bank may charge an overdrawn fee and interest, so leave a buffer for rent, fuel and any direct debits.[2]
- Dual network debit cards. Some debit cards can also be used as a credit card. Used that way they can attract high interest, so check which way a payment goes through.[2]
- Credit card. Keeps your account balance free, but fees and interest apply on purchases if you don't pay the balance in full by the due date.[2]
Either way, the bond is refunded after the return, within 7 business days, less any approved charges, to the same method you paid with unless you agree otherwise (clause 4.2 of the rental terms). Your bank's own processing time comes on top. What the bond is for is explained in the bond, deposit and excess guide.
Will you pay a surcharge for using a card?
Not at Rentzy: there's no card surcharge on any payment, as the rental terms and the fees and charges page both say.
More generally, Australia changed the rules on 1 October 2026. The Reserve Bank removed its ban on card networks' no-surcharge rules from that date, and eftpos, Mastercard and Visa each introduced rules that stop merchants adding a card payment surcharge. American Express, UnionPay and PayPal have also decided to remove surcharging.[1]
The change covers surcharges added because you pay by card. It doesn't cover weekend or public holiday surcharges, or booking and service fees.[1] If a business still adds a card surcharge, the RBA suggests raising it with the business first; you can also tell the card network, which is shown on your EFTPOS receipt.[1]
What happens if a weekly payment is late or bounces?
At the time of writing, clause 3 of the rental terms deals with this:
- Rent not paid within 3 days of its due date is overdue (clause 3.4).
- If rent is overdue, Rentzy may contact you and decline to extend the rental. After notice where the law requires it, Rentzy may end the rental and recover the car, and you stay liable for rent up to the day the car is returned or recovered and for reasonable recovery costs (clauses 3.4 and 11).
- A dishonoured payment may be presented once more, and the bank's dishonour fee is yours to pay (clause 3.6).
- Payments go to the oldest unpaid rent first (clause 3.3).
If a payment is going to be late, call before the due day rather than after. A week you can't afford is easier to sort out early, including by returning the car under the notice rules in clause 3.5; cancelling a car rental booking covers what's refunded before pickup.
What should you ask any rental company about payments?
The ACCC suggests asking a car hire company in what circumstances it will charge your credit card, what amounts it can charge in each case, and when the security deposit is refunded. It also warns that some hire contracts include agreeing to unlimited charges on your credit card.[3] Before a business deducts damage from a card, the ACCC's industry guide says it should give an itemised bill and a reasonable chance to dispute the charge.[4]
Sources
- Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA): Frequently Asked Questions – Removal of Card Payment Surcharges From 1 October 2026 (read 23 October 2026)
- Moneysmart (Australian Securities and Investments Commission): Transaction accounts and debit cards (read 23 October 2026)
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC): Car hire (read 23 October 2026)
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and state and territory consumer agencies: Rental cars: An industry guide to the Australian Consumer Law (read 23 October 2026)
Written by the Rentzy team at Rentzy Car Rentals. Rentzy prices, fees and rules in this guide come from our published terms and update with them; rules set by others (roads, tolls, licences, transport) are from the official pages above, as read on the dates shown. Something out of date? Tell us.
