Global

Australia Plans to Reduce Bank Card Surcharges From 2026

Reuters

"Australia is planning to reduce bank card surcharges, including the elimination of transaction fees on debit cards, the government said on Monday, as the use of cash declines in the country. In a media release, the government said the central bank was undertaking a review of the merchant card payment costs and surcharging, and subject to that consultation, it is prepared to ban debit card surcharging from 2026."

Tags: Australia

Global

Banked Gains Foothold on Australia’s Real-Time Payments Market With the Acquisition of Waave

Banked

"In a landmark deal set to put the spotlight on the continued global adoption of real-time account-to-account payments, Banked, a leading global Pay by Bank provider, today announced its acquisition of Australian payment technology firm Waave."

Tags: Australia

Global

Reserve Bank of Australia: Payments System Board Annual Report – 2024

Reserve Bank of Australia

"The RBA undertakes regulatory and policy work on retail payment systems. Over the past year, the RBA focused on implementing policy actions aimed at enhancing competition and efficiency in the debit card market. The RBA also assisted Treasury and other regulatory bodies on reforms to the regulatory framework for payments."

Tags: Australia

Global

Apple, Google Respond to Payment Cost Heat by Backing EFTPOS (Australia)

Australian Financial Review

"US tech giants Apple and Google will let Australian retailers choose to send customers’ tap-and-go smartphone payments to the lower-cost eftpos network, something their digital wallets have prevented to date."

Tags: Australia

Global

Australian Payments Plus & Thoughtworks Team to Fuel Payto Adoption

IBS Intelligence

"Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy, has joined Australian Payments Plus (AP+), Australia’s domestic payments organisation operating the BPAY, eftpos and NPP payment schemes, to develop new customer experience (CX) industry guidelines for PayTo."

Tags: Australia

Global

Australia’s RBA to Prioritise Wholesale CBDC Work Over Retail

MSN

"Australia's central bank has decided to prioritise work on a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) as its economic benefits are judged to outweigh those of a retail version, a top policymaker said on Wednesday."

Tags: Australia

Global

‘Shocking’: NAB CEO Wants ‘Outrageous’ Fee Costing Australians $960M Scrapped

SBS News

"A major bank boss has taken aim at "outrageous" card payment surcharges, saying they are no longer fit for purpose. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) plans to expedite a review of the practice and hopes to release a consultation paper on the issue by the end of the year."

Tags: Australia

Global

Australia’s Adatree Launches Consumer Data Rights or ‘CDR Insights’ to Combat Fraud

Open Banking Expo

"Australia-based Adatree has launched a fraud prevention product that provides real-time account verification and balance checks and revealed that a state government entity will be the first to adopt it."

Tags: Australia

Global

Australia Signs up to Global Campaign to Fight Cryptocurrency Scams

Cyber Daily

"The Australian Federal Police said that Operation Spincaster has already found more than 2,000 compromised Australian-owned crypto wallets."

Tags: Australia

Global

J.P. Morgan Joins Australia’s Fast Payment Network

FST Media

"J.P. Morgan Payments, the payments services and paytech development arm of US banking giant J.P. Morgan Chase, has been announced as the newest member of the AP+ network. Through its membership, the US payments giant will gain access to Australia’s domestic fast payments network, the New Payments Platform (NPP), as well as to EFTPOS’ online debit payments network for its customers."

Tags: Australia

Global

Monoova Deal Signals Real-Time Payments Momentum [Australia]

Capital Brief

"There are further signs of momentum in the take-up of real-time payments in Australia with one of the leading fintechs in the space, Monoova, inking a deal with a major global insurance platform."

Tags: Australia

Global Industry

RBA’s Focus on Online Payments Signals Broader Trends in Global Financial Regulation

Finance Magnates

"In a world where digital transactions are increasingly becoming the norm, the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) recent speech by Ellis Connolly, Head of Payments Policy, sheds light on critical issues surrounding online retail payments. Delivered at the Merchant Risk Council Conference on June 18, 2024, Connolly’s address highlights both the advancements and challenges faced by Australia in this rapidly evolving sector."

Tags: Australia

Global

Online Retail Payments – Some Policy Issues (Australia/Speech at the Merchant Risk Council)

Reserve Bank of Australia

"The payments landscape in Australia is continuing to evolve rapidly, with new business models and technologies emerging. This is particularly the case for online retail payments, which I will focus on today. But first, I will provide you with a brief update on the Australian Government’s reforms to the RBA’s regulatory role in payments and on the RBA’s upcoming review of retail payments regulation."

Tags: Australia

Global

RBA Flags BNPL Fee Crackdown in Broader Probe Into Credit Cards

Australian Financial Review

"The Reserve Bank has flagged a crackdown on buy now, pay later operators, and may force them to let retailers pass the cost of the short-term credit on to customers, as it outlined plans to launch a review of payment regulations as soon as it is handed stronger powers."

Tags: Australia

Global

Australia Moves to Rein in Buy-Now-Pay-Later with Credit Check Law

MSN

"The Australian government on Wednesday introduced legislation that would require buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) firms to run credit checks on borrowers, aiming to regulate the rapidly growing sector popular among youth like other consumer credit products."

Tags: Australia

Global

Afterpay’s No Interest Model Saved Australians $127 Million in Consumer Fees and Interest in 2023 Compared to Credit Cards, Research Reveals

Afterpay

"Afterpay released new research which demonstrates the vital economic impact of Australia’s leading Buy Now Pay Later provider on its 3.5 million active customers and 129,000 merchants across the country."

Tags: Australia

Companies Global

Adyen and Cover Genius Team up to Enhance Payment Experiences for End-Customers [Sydney]

Adyen

Adyen announced its partnership with Cover Genius, the global insurtech for embedded protection. Adyen is now one of the insurtech’s payment processing partners, offering local payment methods in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, to help the insurtech increase its authorisation rates for online payments.

Tags: Adyen Australia

Companies Global

Banked and NAB Partner to Accelerate Pay by Bank Adoption in Australia

Banked

"Leading global fintech Banked and National Australia Bank have launched a new partnership to accelerate the number of Australian merchants adopting and integrating account-to-account (A2A) payments solutions."

Tags: Australia Banked National Australia Bank

Companies Global

Afterpay Announces Huge Change to How Customers Make Payments [Australia]

Yahoo Finance

Afterpay has announced a huge change to the way customers can pay for their purchases...Aussies will be allowed to choose the day of the week that they hand over their money from June 18.

Tags: Afterpay Australia

Global

Report Highlights Benefits and Challenges of Interlinking Fast Payment Systems for Cross-border Payments

Reserve Bank of Australia

"The Reserve Bank of Australia released a report analysing the benefits, design choices and challenges associated with linking fast payment systems across countries."

Tags: Australia

Global

Finmo Introduces Direct Real-Time Payment (RTP) Integration in Australia and Expands Global Team

PR Newswire

"Finmo Tech Pte. Ltd announced its direct integration with Australia's New Payment Platform (NPP) as an identified institution through its partner bank, Australian Settlements Limited (ASL)."

Tags: Australia Singapore

Global

Westpac’s ‘First-Of-Its-Kind’ Crackdown on Scammers

Yahoo Finance

"Westpac has announced a new security feature, known as Westpac SaferPay, which will flag payments with a high scam risk and present customers with a series of questions."

Tags: Australia

Global

Cashless ‘Fear’ as Date Australia Will Ditch Physical Money Is Revealed

Yahoo Finance

"The majority of Aussies are worried about the country moving towards a cashless society, as experts say we will become “functionally cashless” by the end of the decade."

Tags: Australia

Global

Australian Payments Chooses Swift to Develop Confirmation of Payee Service

Asset Servicing Times

"Australian Payments (AP+) has selected Swift to build a service that aims to reduce the risk of misdirected payments and increase defenses against payment fraud...Swift’s selection to develop the Confirmation of Payee service for the NPP aims to build on its capabilities in AI and data services, including payment pre-validation for cross-border payments."

Tags: Australia

Global

Older Australians ‘Left Behind’ by Increasingly Cashless Society as Banks Fast Track End of Cheques

ABC

"Australia is phasing out cheques by 2030, but banks are moving well ahead of the federal government's timeline."

Tags: Australia

Global

The Double-Edged Sword of Australia’s Cashless Society

BNN Breaking

"The shift towards a cashless society in Australia is accelerating, with the Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock revealing that cash transactions now account for a mere 13% of consumer purchases."

Tags: Australia

Global

Australia’s Central Bank Flags Broad Payments System Reforms

Reuters

"Australia's central bank is considering a slate of new regulations for the payments system to open the use of mobile wallets, make costs more transparent and allow retailers to put surcharges on buy-now-pay-later services."

Tags: Australia

Global

Monoova Launches Real-Time Payments in Australia for World’s First Universal Payments Platform, Optty

PR Newswire

"The world's first universal payments platform Optty has partnered with Australia's largest PayTo provider Monoova to gain access to Australia's payment rails, including PayTo, PayID, BPAY, and online card payments, all via Monoova's API."

Tags: Australia

Companies Global

Ripple Partners with Onafriq to Power Digital Asset-Enabled Cross-Border Payments Between Africa and the Rest of the World

Business Wire

"Ripple, and payments fintech Onafriq, previously MFS Africa, announced that they are partnering to facilitate digital asset-enabled cross-border payments between Africa and several new markets, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the UK and Australia."

Tags: Australia UK