Commonwealth Bank is rolling out new features for its widely used banking apps aimed at combating the plague of scammers ripping off Australians. From late March, the app will indicate whether the name and account details customers have entered are correct when they make payments using a BSB and account number.

“Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Gov. Philip Lowe outlined four goals and initiatives to improve Australia’s payments system in a Wednesday speech. 1. Lowering payment costs for merchants.   A big part of this initiative involves expanding least-cost routing (LCR), which lets merchants route debit payments through the most affordable network. Merchants can choose from Visa, Mastercard, or home-grown payments network eftpos. Australia’s Payments System Board wants to make LCR available for mobile wallet payments—which has strong penetration in the market. 2. Supporting the development of Australia’s faster payments system. Australia offers account-to-account push payments through its New Payments Platform (NPP), which has processed over 1 billion transactions worth more than $1 trillion in the past year. But it wants to enable the same faster payments functionality for direct debit payments. Since NPP was designed for push payments, the government created PayTo to enable faster direct debit payments. But Lowe is frustrated with Australia’s major banks, which he says have been slow to implement PayTo. The banks have agreed to make PayTo fully operational by April 2023…”

“Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has called on global tech giants to reduce payment costs for retailers accepting payments made through smartphones. At his keynote at today’s AusPayNet event in Sydney, Lowe said the RBA has consulted with Apple, Google, and Samsung, as well as the banks and POS providers, in order to implement “least cost routing” for merchants. LCR will route payments through the bank-owned eftpos network, rather than via Visa and Mastercard, which charge retailers more. Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay “is growing very quickly, and they are often more expensive for merchants to accept,” Lowe said. “It would be both feasible and desirable for the industry to deliver LCR functionality for mobile wallet transactions by the end of 2024.”

“The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) published a speech by Assistant Governor Brad Jones which outlines some of the worrisome impacts that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could have on the country’s financial system. Jones focused his remarks on the potential risks of a retail CBDC. “This recognizes that a wholesale CBDC would entail less change to the status quo, as financial institutions already hold digital claims issued by the Bank.” Jones reviewed some of the key arguments in favor of CBDC adoption, including strengthening financial inclusion where banks are few or distant, supporting universal access to public money where banknotes are hard to access or sparingly used, and safeguarding monetary sovereignty in societies with weaker rule of law and monetary systems. According to Jones, these situations do not apply to Australia…“The first of these concerns relates to the potential for a CBDC to become the preferred source of liquidity holdings for households in normal times, at the expense of commercial bank deposits,” Jones said.”

“The role of a bank in ecommerce in Australia is changing, with the launch of CBA’s new platform PowerBoard. With this solution, selected merchants will be able to “plug in” to the platform once and deploy their ecommerce offering, gaining access to a range of payment methods which can be seamlessly switched on for their customers – all through a single platform. To date, payments orchestration has generally only been accessible to larger business with in-house technology teams. PowerBoard will provide merchants of many sizes with payments acquiring, multi gateway capability, a menu of payment options, and an innovation roadmap that will future-proof their business and deliver technology efficiencies. To deliver this Australian banking first, CBA has partnered with fintech and payments orchestration platform Paydock, combining global best technology with bank-grade standards to give merchants peace of mind and meet enhanced security, fraud, data and cyber standards. The PowerBoard portal provides a simple interface to switch on features, monitor real-time transactions, and configure the experience they want to deliver to their customers; meeting the unique needs of each business…PowerBoard is set to integrate with five categories of payment methods: traditional card payments; digital wallets including Apple Pay and Google Pay; Buy Now Pay Later alternative payment methods; domestic payment methods such as eftpos and PayTo; and digital gift cards. In addition to payment methods, PowerBoard will simplify other technology integrations, such as enhanced security tools that support merchants to detect and prevent fraud. Additional connected services will be added in future releases, such as logistics and multi-currency. In some cases, an agreement will be required between the merchant and the provider of the third party connected service.”

“Afterpay customers could have to undergo more detailed credit checks under new regulations being considered for the buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector. Treasury is putting the finishing touches on its review of how BNPL operators such as Afterpay, Zip, humm and Klarna can be regulated to help provide better protections for consumers. The resulting issues paper is due to be released in coming weeks. A relatively new industry, BNPL is exempt from laws designed to protect borrowers who use products such as credit cards and personal loans. The loophole exists because providers don’t charge customers interest, and therefore the product they provide is not technically considered credit. Flagging the Treasury review earlier this year, Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones said he wanted BNPL services to be treated like other credit products under Australian law.”

“The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has set out to explore use cases for a digital version of the Australian dollar. It’s collaborating on the project with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), a research program funded by the government and the financial sector. This week, the two released a white paper for the central bank digital currency (CBDC). The document titled “Australian CBDC Pilot for Digital Finance Innovation” details the main objectives of the initiative and explains the design of the new currency. Members of the industry have been invited to propose use cases that have the potential to improve the functioning of Australia’s economy and financial system, the RBA announced.”

“Merchants in Australia can now accept contactless payments directly on their Android NFC smartphone or tablet using National Australia Bank’s Easy Tap software point of sale (sPOS) solution. The Easy Tap app is “a simple low-cost solution which lets you take payments anywhere, any time, with no need for a separate terminal” and provides merchants with “transaction data in real time so you can spot sales trends and get the information you need to help you manage and grow your business”, National Australia Bank says. “This is perfect for Australians for a side hustle — think your local farmers market, coffee carts and mobile hairdressers who don’t want to lug around a payment terminal or dongle and who are looking for instant insight into how their business is performing,” NAB’s Andrew Irvine says. Westpac bank began piloting its Tap on Phone sPOS solution with merchants in Australia in June.”

“A major outage at the Reserve Bank of Australia and the New Payment Platform that narrowly missed Thursday’s welfare and pension payroll run has prompted reassurances from the government that the recently built system is stable, as it seeks urgent answers about what went wrong. As consumers and bank customers woke on Thursday to wonder what happened to their Osko payments apparently lost in transit, public service and finance minister Katy Gallagher batted away the national incident.”

“As part of a new system that is expected to “revolutionise” payments, consumers will be able to authorise direct debit payments, such as those for gym memberships, directly from their banking app, rather than having to fill out paper or online forms. Last month, the Commonwealth Bank activated PayTo, a new technological tool that promises to give consumers greater control over their direct debit payments than they have had in the past. In this article, we will look at how PayTo, a new option for direct debit payments, is helping consumers view their direct debits, cancel recurring payments through their banking app, and lower overall payment costs for businesses. What is blockchain…?”

“The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is collaborating with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) to explore use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The (DFCRC) is a 10-year, A$180 million research programme funded by industry partners, universities and the Australian government, through the Cooperative Research Centres Programme. The project intends to test a general-purpose pilot CBDC issued as a liability of the RBA for use in real world, pilot implementations of services offered by Australian industry participants. The central bank will be exploring any compelling use case for both wholesale and retail CBDCs through this project.”

“The average cost for a merchant to accept a card payment has declined over recent years. However, consumers are making more payments with cards than ever before, which is raising total payment costs for merchants. Smaller merchants also face notably higher card payment costs per transaction than larger merchants. To strengthen competition and help reduce the cost of accepting card payments, the Reserve Bank wants all merchants to be able to choose which card network is used to process debit transactions – a functionality known as least-cost routing (LCR). While considerable progress has been made, the payments industry has more work to do to provide and promote LCR. The Bank is taking further action to ensure that LCR will be available for all merchants.”

“Commonwealth Bank customers will get the power to control scheduled debit payments from inside the bank’s app after it enabled a new system known as PayTo last weekend. The move will start a shift to processing more payments through real-time national infrastructure known as the NPP rather than debit payment rails owned by global card schemes Visa and Mastercard, reducing the overall costs of payments for big billers. Great Southern Bank has also switched on PayTo, as other big banks work towards a deadline of April next year after failing to hit the original timetable.”

“The feature is the latest initiative by New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA), creating a new way for customers to authorise payments from their CBA bank account in near real-time. The PayTo functionality will allow eligible customers to manage one-off or recurring new PayTo payment agreements within the security of the CommBank App and NetBank, enabling the ability to view, authorise, pause or cancel payment agreements. To be eligible for the feature, CBA retail and business customers must be able to access NetBank and/or the CommBank App and have a CBA account that is eligible. PayTo payer capabilities provides more control over payments that come directly from CBA customers’ bank accounts, including for regular bills, subscriptions and one-off payments.”

“Great Southern Bank said has launched PayTo, giving its customers access to the new direct debit alternative.  The bank was reported by iTnews in June to be among the first adopters of the new payments service. PayTo allows businesses to initiate payments from their customer’s bank accounts and was developed by New Payment Platform Australia and the finance industry. From today Great Southern Bank, formerly CUA, customers will see the service when logging into their accounts. Customers can now access the services on their personal transaction and savings accounts.”

“NAB today announced it was supporting the creation of a digital identity ecosystem, which will enable Australians to more easily validate their identity across e-commerce, utilities, banking and other services and boost protection against fraud. NAB has worked closely with the newly-formed Australian Payments Plus (AP+) – a consolidation of domestic payment organisations BPAY, eftpos and NPP Australia – and other banks on the ‘ConnectID’ digital identity solution. Through ConnectID, NAB will play a critical role in the network as a trusted identity provider, verifying a customer’s identity with the customer’s consent whenever they need to validate their identity online.”

“The Reserve Bank is collaborating with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) on a research project to explore use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Australia. Considerable research has been undertaken by central banks, including the Reserve Bank, into the feasibility and possible technical design of CBDC, in particular exploring the potential use of new technologies such as distributed ledger technology. A question that has received less attention to date, especially in countries like Australia that already have relatively modern and well-functioning payment and settlement systems, is the use cases for a CBDC and the potential economic benefits of introducing one. The project with the DFCRC will help address this gap by focusing on innovative use cases and business models that could be supported by the issuance of a CBDC. The project will also be an opportunity to further understanding of some of the technological, legal and regulatory considerations associated with a CBDC.”

“When’s the last time you paid for something using physical money? For many of us, particularly in Australia, it’s a tough question to answer. Thanks to the proliferation of online banking, contactless payments and even cryptocurrencies, fewer and fewer transactions are being made with cash. This trend has only accelerated during COVID. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2019 Consumer Payments Survey (CPS) – which was conducted in late 2019, prior to the onset of The Spicy Cough – contactless tap-and-go payments accounted for around 55% of in-person transactions, with both industry data and anecdotal evidence indicate that the pandemic has only increased that proportion.”

“The Reserve Bank is collaborating with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) on a research project to explore use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Australia. Considerable research has been undertaken by central banks, including the Reserve Bank, into the feasibility and possible technical design of CBDC, in particular exploring the potential use of new technologies such as distributed ledger technology. A question that has received less attention to date, especially in countries like Australia that already have relatively modern and well-functioning payment and settlement systems, is the use cases for a CBDC and the potential economic benefits of introducing one. The project with the DFCRC will help address this gap by focusing on innovative use cases and business models that could be supported by the issuance of a CBDC. The project will also be an opportunity to further understanding of some of the technological, legal and regulatory considerations associated with a CBDC. The project, which is expected to take about a year to complete, will involve the development of a limited-scale CBDC pilot that will operate in a ring-fenced environment for a period of time and is intended to involve a pilot CBDC that is a real claim on the Reserve Bank.”

“Research released today by Up has found a quarter of Australians under 35 say Buy Now Pay Later has encouraged them to make purchases they regret, with the services evoking feelings of stress (29 per cent) and apprehension (30 per cent). More than half (57 per cent) of young Aussies say they would be interested in a savings-based alternative to BNPL, and now Up is launching just that. Introducing Maybuy – a feature encouraging customers to celebrate the joy of their purchases safely, protecting from overextension, late fees and buyer’s remorse. The latest offering to the country’s highest-rated banking app* means Up customers (known as Upsiders) can now create an automated savings plan for individual items they’ve found shopping online – dubbed a ‘Maybuy’. Once their goal is reached, they’ll be given the opportunity to purchase the item, or reconsider and keep the money they’ve put aside for something else.”

“NPP Australia — an infrastructure company that enables customers of different banks to make and receive real-time payments — says it has been working with the financial services industry to develop the PayTo service. The firm says PayTo is a “foundational capability” that will enable a broad range of use cases and provide a “springboard for future innovation”. PayTo has been built to replace traditional direct debits, enhance recurring or subscription payments, improve payroll and accounts payable functions, have in-app and e-commerce utility, support faster employee payment times and enhance QR code payment options.   Following authorisation via a digital payment arrangement, referred to as a ‘PayTo agreement’, payments can be initiated from a customer’s account by a specified third party.”

“The chief executive of failed neobank Volt still believes there is merit in trying to disrupt Australia’s banking oligopoly, saying his firm’s technology and products were competitive but it couldn’t raise the capital to keep growing. About 6000 customers who had money with Volt were told on Wednesday to urgently withdraw their funds before the digital bank starts closing accounts next Tuesday. Volt said it was intending to hand its banking licence back to the regulator and would return $100 million to its customers after it was forced to close due to struggles to raise enough capital during the pandemic.”

“Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet), the payments industry self-regulatory body, has published guidelines for Quick Response (QR) codes as a payment method. The guidelines will be voluntary for financial institutions, payment service providers, merchants and other payments industry participants and are designed to encourage consistency in how QR codes are used. The guidelines can be accessed on AusPayNet’s website .”

“National Australia Bank (NAB) has joined the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market with the launch of NAB Now Pay Later. NAB boasts that unlike other BNPL products, NAB Now Pay Later charges no late fees, interest, and account fees. Customers will be able to access up to AU$1,000, split purchases in four payments, and use it anywhere Visa is accepted.”