NSW commuters will see enhanced services, a new Opal app and the rollout of 25,000 new readers, under a $820m deal announced by the NSW Government yesterday. Officials compared the upgrade to replacing tech from “the start of the century such as the Blu-Ray Player and the first Blackberry”.

As competition from Visa and Mastercard in the Australian fleet card market intensifies, WEX Motorpass just became the first multi-brand fuel card to integrate EV charging with Chargefox which has partnerships with the likes of NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC, RACT, Coles, Woolworths, McDonalds and a network of councils and universities.

An ACCC filing suggests the Australian Banking Association wants multi-bank deposit ATMs to fill the gap left by 1,564 branch closures since 2020. But regional banks and their communities say a machine in a wall is no substitute for a person behind a counter.

Inquiry evidence has sharpened the fight over Apple Pay fees, with banks warning of competitive barriers while the RBA’s own cost framework appears to entrench wallet charges.

Xero tells 1.7 million small businesses to buckle up, get ready and possibly hike prices ahead of two big payments changes – the surcharge ban and Payday Super.

As the Reserve Bank moves to increase transparency on fees, the global card giants deflect detailed parliamentary questions on $2 billion in scheme fees. They have instead leaned on global narratives, while avoiding direct answers on Australian cost increases and merchant impacts.

On The Interchange Bench this week, Cash Out Day warms up ATMs, NSW Treasury looks for Payments Strategy lead, Airwallex pushes POS while Proposa pushes points, KuCoin jumps on Mastercard rails and concerned travel agents pack surcharge ban meeting.

As Payday Super looms, Employment Hero is banking on AI to help streamline workforces and create return on investment.

Commonwealth Bank customers may start to notice more proactive warnings about potentially fraudulent transactions after the bank deployed an advanced agentic AI system.

Ant International and Citi plan to launch PayTo on Ant’s service in Australia aimed directly at the small business market.

How Omnivore kept 985 Coles Liquor stores running through Christmas without a hitch.

Travel insurer 1Cover claims a $35,000 saving by streamlining its payments stack through Adyen partnership.