The major card schemes and big banks are ubiquitous in their sponsorship of Australia’s major sporting codes and events but hide behind the sporting codes administrators as they wield influence.

Australian Payments Plus (AP+) is working on a solution to process massive bulk payments files, as it tries to capture government payments - like welfare - and secure the BECS closure.

Banking Circle Australia sees its international experience and overseas market know-how as a key differentiator as it moves to tackle its market rival, Cuscal, head on in 2026.

This week on The Interchange Bench, Mastercard’s Monnington takes on the antipodes, as Tyro’s new boss appeals to Asia, investors get the RBA rattles, Benton gets a gig at Findi and AMEX encourages premium angst at the checkout.

As Canberra sharpens its focus on the rising cost and market power of digital wallets, Apple has quietly moved to head off some of the pressure by adding eftpos to its in-app payments.

Brisbane-based payment gateway Merchant Warrior has announced a partnership with global fintech Nomupay to bring its platform to customers in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

As the Australia Parliament readies for its first inquiry into credit cards in over a decade, US President Donald Trump has called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10 per cent.

Australian card payment volumes have crossed the $1.1 trillion threshold for the first time, reaching $1.105 trillion over the past 12 months. The milestone reflects continued growth in consumer card usage.

Sydney fintech Wisr has teamed up with NotCentralised, Redbelly Network and AMAL to demonstrate how tokenisation can simplify and streamline access to capital markets.