Fintech
+3
Nov 4, 2025
As violence escalates in Australia’s $10b illegal tobacco wars, Tyro and Square have started pulling out payments terminals - while other PSPs and payment facilitators are sitting on their hands and counting the fees.
Merchant Service Fees
Small businesses could be left counting the cost if they succumb to heavy marketing incentives to sign up to hefty blended rate surcharging plans ahead of a looming ban.
A2A
The Interchange Bench
LCR
+1
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Two new reports have articulated stresses facing the nation’s small businesses, as the Reserve Bank of Australia considers the future of surcharging and merchant fees which could deal another blow to the sector.
+2
Checkout.com has announced a new partnership with Uber - providing acquiring and payment gateway services to Uberʼs ridesharing and on-demand delivery platforms.
With the Payday Superannuation Bill passing through parliament yesterday, three Australian technology companies are mobilising to ensure compliance with the seven-day super payment expectation.
Digital & Online
A recent PayPal Circular Economy Research Report has shown Australians are drowning in clutter, with 9 in 10 having $1,349 worth of unused items lying around that could be turned into cash.
Oct 28, 2025
Amazon and Microsoft host the lion’s share of digital payments infrastructure amid concerns about data sovereignty and outages.
With the ANZ acquisition of Suncorp leaving the future of its acquiring business uncertain and Shift4 buying up big parts of Worldline in the US, ANZ Worldline appears to be lifting its game on product development and Least-Cost Routing.
On the Interchange Bench this week, a chorus line of PSP and scheme executives perform in Canberra, AP+ gets new leadership talent and the tobacco terminal wars come to LinkedIn.
Cash
Strike action from cash-in-transit workers hit the Spring Racing Carnival just days after the ACCC has issued a draft determination green lighting the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and other industry partners to develop ways to ensure the continued distribution of cash across Australia.
The soul crushing process of filling in piles of detailed rental applications could get a whole lot easier with the clever application of technologies like Digital ID and the Consumer Data Right (CDR), according to Sydney payments outfits Fat Zebra and AP+.
DoorDash, Milkrun and Uber Eats could be charging consumers 40 per cent more for some grocery items compared to what they cost instore, a CHOICE investigation into third-party delivery apps has found.
Cuscal is set to welcome about 20 new bank, government and fintech customers to its fold, after the ACCC cleared the way for its proposed $75 m acquisition of Indue Limited.
Employers should not be responsible for payments industry processing bungles under the Federal Government’s Payday Super rules, according to small business advocates.
Regulation
Industry insiders and proceeds of crime experts question whether PSPs are making any effort to help halt the $10 billion trade - and whether the latest government task force will make a difference.
ASX-listed fintech Findi Group has entered into an agreement to acquire eco-friendly paytech Sphere for Good (Sphere) for an implied value of $6 million, payable in Findi shares.
The Reserve Bank is polarising debate on surcharging by failing to pick up on nuisances and practical ideas to reduce card fees before any surcharge ban is implemented, according to small business advocates.
AusPayNet will communicate a revised roadmap for the BECS shutdown before the end of the year, as the Reserve Bank urges the industry to cooperate on a shared vision for Account-to-Account (A2A) payments and expect “trade-offs”.
AI
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a futuristic idea or a Silicon Valley experiment. It has quietly become the invisible engine driving how money moves, how fraud is prevented, and how trust is built across the global financial system. What are the potential benefits, and the risks?
Tyro Health has launched its fully certified, integrated Aged Care Solution ahead of the Australian Government's Support at Home program, which will commence on Saturday.
The Reserve Bank has delayed its decision on card fees and surcharging until March 2026, saying it needs more time to consider more than 170 submissions received.
Banks
Oct 21, 2025
In the midst of fierce debate about the future of credit card rewards programs and interchange, ANZ and Woolworths Group’s Everyday Rewards have announced a new loyalty partnership.
CBA has replaced Cashless Card and Cardless Deposits using mobile phone numbers with a QR solution in an effort to reduce financial crime.
The Commonwealth Bank closed the most bank branches in the 12 months to July 2025, followed by Westpac and ANZ, according to the latest APRA numbers.
Government
The government has announced it's drafting legislation to target a crackdown on crypto ATMs that may see the machines, which buy cash to sell crypto currency, restricted or banned.
Around 40 percent of Australians express distrust towards the major banks, while “the cost of living crunch does not discriminate”, according to new research from Nielsen Consumer & Media View (CMV).
This week on The Interchange Bench, Treasury and banks are at odds over definitions of a “small business’ while rewards announcements abound, more digital outages cause headaches for consumers and BNPL companies make hay in a wild west US.
Only fuel and groceries have been classified as “essential purchases” under draft regulations released for comment on Friday, with medicines, government services and clothing among items failing to qualify.
+4
“Our message is clear: if you profit from illicit tobacco in Australia, you are operating illegally,” says Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
There is a lot of debate around the surcharge ban in Australia. The Reserve Bank (RBA) claims only 10% of small businesses surcharge, but many are sceptical of that figure. If the RBA is wrong, a ban on surcharging can have serious implications for consumers, businesses and payment service providers.
After eight months in seeming purgatory, the mandating cash acceptance submissions are now available for viewing, but with major banks and retailers missing, it’s hard to decipher whose opinions on cash Treasury values.
Banks are removing eftpos-only “prop” cards and the nation’s fastest growing card issuer Macquarie has an eftpos exemption casting a further shadow over least-cost routing.
Oct 14, 2025
Australian payment services provider Monoova has been named Company of the Year at the Global FinTech Awards 2025 in London, highlighting Australia’s growing influence in the global fintech sector.
On the Interchange Bench this week there are rumblings from the nation’s capital that the Cash Mandate is back on, while the POS market comes alive with ambitious plays from the likes of Airwallex, Oolio and a mystery bank, and ANZ Worldline distances itself from ANZ on LinkedIn!
Treasury has started consultation on tranche 1 of its new regulatory framework for Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
