Canberra coy on legality of its pricy debit card surcharges, after announcing merchant ban

By Michael Sainsbury, Senior Business Correspondent

Two weeks after the Albanese government vowed to crack down on merchant surcharges on debit cards, it won’t say whether Commonwealth departments and agencies are breaking the law by levying citizens with those same surcharges - some of which are among the highest fees for big merchants in market.

Canberra currently recovers the costs of debit card merchant fees by surcharging citizens who pay for services such as tax bills, passport fees, and entry to government-owned parks, like Kakadu.

It’s time! Mandate Least Cost Routing ... properly, Ombudsman

By Staff Reporter

The Australian Small Business and Family Business Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, has called for Least Cost Routing (LCR) of debit card payments to be mandated by the Reserve Bank of Australia, comparing the current system to expensive and unnecessary toll roads.

Mr Billson estimates about $1 billion in additional fees is being “gouged from consumers and small businesses and that's why we have been calling for a system called least-cost routing to be mandatory”.

Mandala embeds cross border transaction compliance

By Staff Reporter

A new multi-jurisdictional project demonstrates how technology can make it easier for banks to meet the various regulatory requirements which underpin the safety of cross-border payments, according to Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant (RBA) Governor Financial System, Brad Jones.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in partnership with central bank partners including the RBA, have successfully demonstrated with Project Mandala that regulatory compliance can be embedded in cross-border transaction protocols.

VISA reports $35.9 billion revenue

By Staff Reporter

This week Visa reported revenue in the fiscal full-year 2024 was $35.9 billion, an increase of 10% YOY, driven by the “year-over-year growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions”.

That represents a profit of $20.4 billion (Non-GAAP Net Income), with a margin of 57%.

PayDay News is a publication produced by the Independent Payments Forum. For any enquiries regarding PayDay News, please contact admin@ipforum.com.au