Brad Kelly

Brad Kelly is one of Australia’s leading Payments experts and commentators. Over the past 35 years, Brad's run successful payment technology businesses both in Australia and internationally, and worked with major Australian and international Banks, card schemes and Fintechs. Brad is now Managing Director of payments consultancy, Payment Services, is a regular commentator in Australia’s leading payments industry publication, PayDay News, is co-founder of the Independent Payments Forum Australia and one of Australia’s representatives on the global Merchant Advisory Group (MAG).

The RBA hasn't banned surcharges — and the difference matters

Misunderstanding the scope of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s change of position will cost merchants real money and acquirers real customers — and that's a surcharge nobody agreed to.

Merchant Service Fees

Cuscal and Tyro – A tale of two cities

Perception is everything in the financial markets and right now investors like Cuscal but have serious doubts about Tyro’s future, creating a mammoth task for CEO Nigel Lee to re-establish confidence.

Fintech

Wake up! Only 162 days before surcharge ban kicks in

With just 162 days left until the first round of changes to Australia’s retail payment system, the payments industry is having mixed reactions to the most significant changes in a generation, but you wouldn’t know it.

Merchant Service Fees

ParliPay - hours of action-packed TV with a pinch of fiction

Last week I spent two days watching the parade of banking and payment seniors strut their stuff in Canberra at the House Economics Committee – the ParliPay hearings.

Fintech

Velocity flies into the interchange and surcharge storm

While all eyes are on Qantas, Virgin Australia has fired a distress flare on the potential impact of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging – saying it could impact both revenue and Velocity cards.

Merchant Service Fees

Magic! Your debit fees just transformed into higher credit

Turning debit into higher credit fees has always been the Holy Grail to boost issuer revenue. Visa may have finally found it, but merchants will pay handsomely for the “privilege”.

LCR

Small business “subdued” as RBA mulls decision on card fees and surcharging

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.

Merchant Service Fees

Keeping the bastards honest - PayDay News turns one

"As we move into our second year at Payday News, I like to think of our role being like that of Senator Don Chipp who in 1980 said famously that his job was “To keep the bastards honest”. Clearly, we have our work cut out for us."

Rewards cards in the firing line. But is it all doom and gloom?

The Reserve Bank of Australia has announced an intention to reduce credit interchange from a cap of 0.80% to 0.30%. The move has been welcomed by merchants across the nation who have for decades unwittingly subsidised rewards programs for the banks.

Regulation

Premium credit card chats on internet forums. Where facts go to die.

If you spend any time on internet forums talking about the value of premium credit cards, you will stumble across any number of self-styled experts who willingly dish out advice but are just cosplaying.

Merchant Service Fees

Wild ride for Aussie payments outfits set to continue

The last 12 months has seen significant volatility in the share price of Australian publicly listed payments companies, and we haven’t seen the end of this unpredictability.

What happened to my precious data?

Most of you will know that I take the monthly Reserve Bank Australia payment data very seriously.

A2A

Christmas expires in 3 years

Gift cards are big business, but the money is made is when you don’t use them.

Cards

A brief history of heavy lifting in Aussie Payments

Some of the challenges we face in payments today pale into insignificance when we look at the history of our industry in Australia.