FEATURED

Digital & Online

Mar 25, 2026

Leaked list reveals high risk NPP customers

Cuscal, Westpac, Zepto and ANZ have been told to keep a close eye on more than two dozen companies in the remittance and money transfer, securities with investments and gambling sectors that feature on a leaked “high risk” list of merchants they connect to the financial system via the New Payments Platform.

Digital & Online

Mar 25, 2026

Stablecoin transactions pay the toll with Mastercard and Visa making sure of it

Mastercard and Visa are building the tollbooth for stablecoin, one acquisition and partnership at a time.

THE LATEST

Regulation

Mar 25, 2026

BECS lifeline?

Merchant Service Fees

Mar 25, 2026

Payments fees surge as oil accelerates inflation

Fintech

Mar 25, 2026

Merger abandoned amid A2A uncertainty

Cash

Mar 25, 2026

Cyclone Narelle exposes Australia's cashless fragility

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The Interchange Bench

This week on The Interchange Bench, Paynter takes the reigns at Zero, Spence heads for the sun, SME champ Billson finds a new gig, PayPal bends the rules for Bluesfest punters, Azupay goes to lunch and Volt searches for compliance help.

Regulation

Mar 25, 2026

RBA confirms an expired certificate took down Australia's payments settlement backbone

The RBA's post-incident report on the 27 January RITS outage reveals an uncomfortable truth: the plumbing that moves billions through Australia's financial system was felled by a forgotten digital credential.

Regulation

Mar 25, 2026

PayTo needs a facelift to compete with BECS: RBA

PayTo - Australia’s real time answer to direct debit - needs an urgent facelift if the industry hopes to convince consumers to move to real time payments en masse.

Government

Mar 25, 2026

Express Transit mobile confusion as Victorian myki tap trial kicks in

Easy access mobile payments for transit may be responsible for Victorian commuters accidently paying for fares twice.

Fintech

Mar 25, 2026

Pay.com.au's new CTO wants to turn $4.2 trillion in “dead payments” into rewards

Dee Kulkarni on scaling a $633 million Australian fintech into the US, why indecision is the only bad decision, and the budget risk nobody's ignoring.

Government

Mar 25, 2026

Coinbase asks Senate for more on debanking

As the government looks to introduce the Digital Assets Framework Bill to regulate crypto currencies in Australia, Coinbase remains concerned about the lack of a substantive solution when it comes to debanking.

Digital & Online

Mar 18, 2026

Bluesfest collapse triggers refund confusion

Due to a rare ticketing arrangement Stripe and PayPal are now on the hook for millions in refunds via delayed card chargebacks, after the merchant, Bluesfest Enterprises, went belly up.

Banks

Mar 18, 2026

CHOICE: banks not doing their bit to stop financial elder abuse

A CHOICE report has found that most banks aren’t complying with their own industry code of practice to stop elder financial abuse - costing vulnerable people several billions of dollars a year.

Fintech

Mar 18, 2026

Consultation looks at PSPs, ePayments Code powers and unclaimed funds

Treasury has launched a consultation on new legislation for payments service providers (PSPs), including power to make rules for a mandatory and revised ePayments Code and new controls for unclaimed monies.

Cash

Mar 18, 2026

Debit cards hit 77% of volume and 70% of in-store purchase value for first time

Australian consumers continued their shift towards debit cards in January 2026, with debit reaching 77% of volume and a milestone 70% share of in-store card purchase value for the first time on record.

Digital & Online

Mar 18, 2026

Little action on illicit tobacco instore and online payments as “wars” escalate

With illegal tobacco being couriered around the country by Australia Post on the back of online payments, only CBA and Tyro appear to be taking noticeable action as the Federal Coalition sets up its own tobacco taskforce.

Fintech

Mar 18, 2026

Monoova launches FX Hub while merger rumours grow

Amid increased chatter about a merger, Australian paytech Monoova has launched a new platform bringing domestic collections, foreign exchange conversion, funding, and settlement into a single automated flow.

Regulation

Mar 18, 2026

Payments most powerful - a year of tough decisions for the PSB

It is a very busy and critical time for payments most powerful decision-makers, but with delays in decisions, extra scrutiny from the economics committee, and a member’s term ending in December, interest is swirling about the RBA's Payments System Board.

Regulation

Mar 18, 2026

Rare debit surcharge slap for Hyatt just days away from RBA decision

More than 18 months after receiving $2.1 million in funding for surcharging surveillance, the competition regulator has finally taken action.

Fintech

Mar 18, 2026

Revolut introduces PayTo for Australian customers

Revolut says its has found a simpler solution for its customers paying pesky utility bills and online subscriptions. With PayTo, consumers can now view, pause or cancel recurring payment agreements within their app.

A2A

Mar 18, 2026

The economics of A2A: the “fee free” illusion in real time retail

Comparisons with other territories used to push A2A retail business cases in Australia are misleading. In reality, buying a coffee, beer or train ticket is most likely cheaper with a debit card on your mobile.

The Interchange Bench

Mar 18, 2026

The Interchange Bench

On the Interchange Bench this week, Bolt Group expands to New Zealand with the help of ex-PM John Key ... but no Binance yet. Block sees double on Finnies judging panel, CBA’s Albert Naffah among the stars in the eftpos show next week, CBA Chair, Paul O’Malley, calls out US AI tech drain without Mastercard mention, Amex turns up the heat on business card points and the RBA searches for a digital and content guru.

Banks

Mar 18, 2026

US Ripple buys remnants of BC Payments for Aussie licence

US crypto outfit Ripple is buying the remnants of Banking Circle’s original Australian entity, BC Payments Australia, to obtain an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) quickly.

Digital & Online

Mar 18, 2026

Will Swift’s deal with Australia’s big banks fix cross-border payments?

Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB, and Westpac have joined a new Swift framework promising faster, cheaper, more transparent international payments. It's a big coalition, a polished launch, and a genuinely ambitious global rollout. It's also a story with some conspicuous gaps.

Digital & Online

Mar 18, 2026

With scammers riding roughshod on its network, Telstra teams with banks to catch mules

Telstra just announced it's teaming up with ANZ, NAB and Westpac to hunt money mules – people who shuffle stolen cash through their bank accounts on behalf of criminal networks. But why can’t the telco block dodgy callers and messages riding the network in the first place, like Samsung does?

Digital & Online

Mar 11, 2026

Australia's $24 billion digital payments bonanza has a $23 billion problem

A new industry report promises a once-in-a-generation digital finance windfall. The maths, the infrastructure, and the Reserve Bank's own admissions tell a different story.

Merchant Service Fees

Mar 11, 2026

Cards close to the chest – RBA mum on fees and surcharge decision

The decision has already been made but the Reserve Bank isn’t giving away any clues as it prepares for the official release of its final verdict on merchant fees and surcharging later this month.

Scams & Fraud

Mar 11, 2026

CoP halts 450k risky transfers at one bank!

Thanks to the integration of Confirmation of Payee (CoP), banks have marked a major milestone in efforts to protect consumers and businesses from scams and misdirected payments.

Digital & Online

Mar 11, 2026

Illicit tobacco online via payments rails, delivered by Australia Post

Australia Post has become the chief courier service for illicit tobacco, with payments provided by a raft of companies including PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Klarna, Stripe, Link, and CBA and ANZ BSBs.

Cash

Mar 11, 2026

Is banking politics at play in lingering cash saga?

Despite the promise of special interest deals and approved closed-shop negotiations, Australia’s high drama cash distribution saga has dragged on for almost three years.

Banks

Mar 11, 2026

Is Matos’ next move to ramp up or sell off ANZ Worldline and the Suncorp merchant business?

Well-versed in the art of acquiring, ANZ’s Nuno Matos now faces a payment headache – what to do with Suncorp’s 3,000 merchant customers, and his troublesome joint venture partner Worldline.

A2A

Mar 11, 2026

Macquarie wields PayID in catch up rental payments

By launching PayID on DEFT, Macquarie Bank is matching CBA and RentPay on real time payments – strengthening its ongoing campaign to dominate the $85bn-a-year rental payments market.

Digital & Online

Mar 11, 2026

Missed deadline on RBA outage review – the system keeps breaking

Australia built a cashless economy on infrastructure that can't stay online. The Reserve Bank knows it. The telcos know it. And now, after its own system crashed because someone forgot to renew a certificate, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has missed its own deadline to explain what went wrong.

Regulation

Mar 11, 2026

RBA threatens to intervene over A2A discord

The Reserve Bank will intervene to achieve “public interest” outcomes on real time payments if the industry fails to find consensus on key issues like bulk processing and resilience.

The Interchange Bench

Mar 11, 2026

The Interchange Bench

On The Interchange Bench this week, CBA gears up for bulk NPP payments with Maryanna Vasilareas appointment, schemes clamber to Melbourne for F1 antics despite the global fuel crisis, Fat Zebra’s Sebastien Joseph releases SecurePay update, CMSPI’s Robbie MacDiarmid dials in for RBA decision and Mollie buys GoCardless.

The Payments Spotlight

Mar 8, 2026

Always learning: Nina Kutzner – Payments Expert and Business Leader

The rawness and complexity of payments hooked Nina Kutzner and has led to a successful and innovative career.

The Payments Spotlight

Mar 8, 2026

Collaboration and user experience: Peta Gray – NSW Treasury

Experience in customer-facing roles remains an asset for Peta Gray, shaping a deep understanding of customer needs and expectations, the real-world challenges in payments, and how systems are experienced in practice.

The Payments Spotlight

Mar 8, 2026

Curiosity and growth: Kathleen Harker - ANZ

Kathleen Harker’s rise in the payments sector to Associate Director of Strategic Growth at ANZ started somewhat unexpectedly. She had to grow and adapt quickly to keep up with the ever-changing payments sphere, ultimately shaping her into the payments leader she is today.

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FEATURED

Leaked list reveals high risk NPP customers

Stablecoin transactions pay the toll with Mastercard and Visa making sure of it

THE LATEST

BECS lifeline?

Payments fees surge as oil accelerates inflation

Merger abandoned amid A2A uncertainty

Cyclone Narelle exposes Australia's cashless fragility

STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LATEST PAYMENTS NEWS

TRENDING

The Interchange Bench

RBA confirms an expired certificate took down Australia's payments settlement backbone

PayTo needs a facelift to compete with BECS: RBA

Express Transit mobile confusion as Victorian myki tap trial kicks in

Pay.com.au's new CTO wants to turn $4.2 trillion in “dead payments” into rewards

Coinbase asks Senate for more on debanking

Bluesfest collapse triggers refund confusion

CHOICE: banks not doing their bit to stop financial elder abuse

Consultation looks at PSPs, ePayments Code powers and unclaimed funds

Debit cards hit 77% of volume and 70% of in-store purchase value for first time

Little action on illicit tobacco instore and online payments as “wars” escalate

Monoova launches FX Hub while merger rumours grow

Payments most powerful - a year of tough decisions for the PSB

Rare debit surcharge slap for Hyatt just days away from RBA decision

Revolut introduces PayTo for Australian customers

The economics of A2A: the “fee free” illusion in real time retail

The Interchange Bench

US Ripple buys remnants of BC Payments for Aussie licence

Will Swift’s deal with Australia’s big banks fix cross-border payments?

With scammers riding roughshod on its network, Telstra teams with banks to catch mules

Australia's $24 billion digital payments bonanza has a $23 billion problem

Cards close to the chest – RBA mum on fees and surcharge decision

CoP halts 450k risky transfers at one bank!

Illicit tobacco online via payments rails, delivered by Australia Post

Is banking politics at play in lingering cash saga?

Is Matos’ next move to ramp up or sell off ANZ Worldline and the Suncorp merchant business?

Macquarie wields PayID in catch up rental payments

Missed deadline on RBA outage review – the system keeps breaking

RBA threatens to intervene over A2A discord

The Interchange Bench

Always learning: Nina Kutzner – Payments Expert and Business Leader

Collaboration and user experience: Peta Gray – NSW Treasury

Curiosity and growth: Kathleen Harker - ANZ

HAVE A NEWS STORY TO SHARE?