Will a surcharge ban help big banks kill their competition? 

By Michael Sainsbury, Senior Business Correspondent

A lucrative part of the fintech sector that provides competition to Australia’s dominant banks in payments has been upended by the Albanese government’s intention to put an end to rising debit card fees (and surcharging), and a looming Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) review.

While these significant changes to competitors in the payments sector will be weathered by the big banks and multinationals like Square, Stripe and Ayden, it may be harder for three burgeoning payments companies, listed Tyro Payments Ltd, Smartpay Australia Limited and privately held Zeller, without significant change to their business models.

Reluctant regulator needs to bare its teeth on small business card fees 

By Gabby Taylor, Senior Education Correspondent

The Reserve Bank must reign in debit card fees that currently plague Australian small businesses and shoppers before banning surcharging, the Independent Payments Forum (IPF) said today.

IPF this week welcomed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s overdue review into card fees and surcharging, while urging the regulator to “bare its regulatory teeth” on elements of the payments industry gouging small business on card fees.

Banked buys Waave and reannounces Chemist Warehouse QR rollout over NPP

By Staff Reporter

NAB and Citi-backed UK fintech Banked acquired Aussie startup Waave this month, reviving talk of an adventurous technology rollout in Chemist Warehouse stores using QR over the New Payments Platform (NPP).

Last year, Waave announced a partnership with Quest Payment Systems (Quest) and Chemist Warehouse which aimed to launch a 'groundbreaking' Open Banking checkout option across 500 nationwide stores.

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