“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.”

“Thousands of families across Australia are set to try out Kit, a new CommBank-supported money app that could revolutionise how kids learn to earn, save, spend, and manage money, in the digital economy. The app has been launched today as a trial by x15ventures (CommBank’s venture arm), as new research highlights the increasing difficulties parents face as kids grow up using digital devices and the use of cash is declining rapidly.”

“While the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is conducting research into various applications of cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technologies, they are under no pressure to quickly roll out solutions to address clear needs in the marketplace, a representative said earlier today. Speaking to the Australian Corporate Treasury Association, head of payments policy Tony Richards, shared his thoughts on what if any roles crypto, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies could play in the marketplace in the years ahead. He said the growth of this sector has generated the most discussion of any topic the Reserve Bank of Australia has seen in his decade with the organization.”

“Over a million Australians cancelled their credit cards in the past year in favour of the raft of services offering interest-free payment instalments, new research conducted by Nielsen and DBM Atlas shows…The Reserve Bank of Australia reported in March 2020 that buy now, pay later transactional values had risen by 55% in the past 12 months.”

“Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank as well as supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths and fintechs Azupay , Beem It and Merchant Warrior have confirmed they will support the rollout of the national QR payments and rewards platform developed by Australia’s Eftpos payments system.”

“Eftpos has partnered with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Coles, Woolworths, Azupay, Beem It, and Merchant Warrior to launch its new QR code payments platform it’s calling eQR. To begin rolling out as a new consumer payment option before Christmas, eQR has been described by Eftpos CEO Stephen Benton as a system that will become the “QR equivalent” of the company’s tap and pay feature on its debit cards.”

“The Australian government is considering new laws that would tighten the regulation of digital payment services by tech giants such as Apple (AAPL.O) and Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) . Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he would “carefully consider” that and other recommendations from a government-commissioned report into whether the payments system had kept pace with advances in technology and changes in consumer demand. Services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and China’s WeChat Pay, which have grown rapidly in recent years, are not currently designated as payment systems, putting them outside the regulatory system.”

“Australian payments provider Eftpos has announced plans to spend another AU$30 million on digital upgrades to its network over the next year, including new security features. The AU$30 million adds to the AU$70 million Eftpos has already spent on its network over the last four years. The new security features are expected to be available to all Australian banks and financial institutions by November, with plans for a full rollout by May 2022.”

“BHMI , a leading provider of payments software and creator of the Concourse Financial Software Suite® , announced that Cuscal Limited , Australia’s leading independent provider of payment solutions, will be utilizing BHMI’s Concourse solution to support the needs and requirements for Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP) upcoming PayTo initiative, which provides customers with enhanced visibility and control over their payment options.”

“Australian payments player Eftpos has announced completing the build of its new QR code payments infrastructure. The first stage of the QR infrastructure was built in early July, CEO Stephen Benton said, and is described as being designed to provide secure and enhanced consumer purchasing and engagement experiences through loyalty, offers, receipts, and added security. Benton said testing of the new QR code infrastructure is underway and end-to-end testing would be completed when the first merchant goes live in August. Eftpos said the first commercial trials would be announced in the coming weeks.”