The inherent risks associated with the booming digital economy have birthed a booming, lucrative and almost invisible payments ecosystem in business to business (B2B) virtual card payments and AI tools.

Fresh moves in New Zealand to launch regulated online gaming in 2026 have spun the spotlight back on Australia’s networks, with Australian Payments Plus (AP+) taking tough “corrective action” to stop unlawful activity on NPP.

While a group of payments providers are actively working to help stop criminals, others appear to be sanguine, with well-known terminal providers still very visible in illegal tobacco and vape stores.

There are growing calls from small business groups for delays, carve outs and more comprehensive regulatory reform as new rules for super and surcharging threaten an already precarious economic environment for the sector.

On The Interchange Bench this week, Apple Pay faces a big year with Aussie regulators, AP+ resources up for its roadmap, New Zealand finds rewards relief with less interchange and Fredericks jumps to Visa.

Embattled crypto exchange Binance Australia is again offering direct Australian dollar deposits and withdrawals via PayID and bank transfers - but customers say there are teething issues.

Thredd is partnering with Sydney-based payment orchestration platform Paywith to launch a new prepaid card program for loyalty and rewards with a “large Australian grocery retailer”.

Australian payments tech Azupay has partnered with Singapore Airline’s low-cost subsidiary Scoot, allowing Australian customers to access PayID as a new payment option for account-to-account transactions at checkout.

Monoova has topped up its executive team with new talent, bringing in ex-Police Bank CIO Lyndall Rose as Chief Operating Officer, and former ANZ Worldline compliance boss, Shane Fryer as Chief Risk Officer.

Macquarie Bank says its new AI customer service agent Q has the ability to answer commonly asked payments questions.