Merchant Service Fees

News about fees including interchange, scheme fees and margin

Soaring merchant fees stoke boom in payments advisers

The opacity of merchant fee pricing across the globe is spawning a wave of litigation and burgeoning demand for payments experts. One of the world’s largest merchant advisory groups, BB Merchant Services, says it is expanding its presence in the Australian market.

Cash

With no consensus on card fees and surcharging, will the public interest prevail?

If the Reserve Bank wants consensus on its proposal for merchant fees and surcharging, it’s a lost cause. The best the central bank can hope for is a decision in the public interest, leveraging strong sentiment on issues such as scheme fees, least-cost routing and the burden on small business.

Fintech

Payments reforms put global providers in the frame

After years of deliberation and delay, federal parliament has finally passed changes to the Payments System Regulation Act. While the reforms give the Treasurer new special powers to designate payments systems in the ‘national interest’ they are unlikely to advance the RBA’s mandate to support competition. Currently only eftpos, NPP, Visa and MasterCard are designated payment systems.

Merchant Service Fees

RBA asked to explain soaring merchant costs as it finalises reforms

Small business groups want the Reserve Bank to shed light on why the average fee to process an eftpos transaction is rising as wholesale costs decline and more banks make least cost routing available to merchants. They say it’s pointing to something profoundly dysfunctional in the Australian payments system.

Fintech

Tyro’s bizarre warning to SMEs, while industry still peddling costly bundled rates and surcharging

Tyro is warning customers to only make “modest price adjustments” in the wake of the proposed RBA surcharging bans next year, while continuing to promote hefty 1.4% bundled plans with surcharging to new small business clients.

Merchant Service Fees

Airline ticket price hikes ahead, as Qantas promises to pass on surcharge costs

Qantas believes that while the RBA's aims are admirable, it will not get the results it wants - with the proposed ban on surcharging more likely to see an inflationary effect.

Merchant Service Fees

How reliable are the RBA’s official numbers on debit routing?

Banks and other acquirers enjoyed lower wholesale costs for processing eftpos transactions last year, but the average service fees paid by merchants still soared by 34 per cent. The blowout in merchant costs comes as the RBA released fresh data that least cost routing had been “enabled” for 80 per cent of Australian merchants at the end of June.

Merchant Service Fees

Qantas says Frequent Flyers will grow, despite proposed fee cuts

Qantas remains upbeat that its Loyalty division can continue grow at 10-12% each year despite dark warnings from card schemes about the interchange caps that underpin the program.

Merchant Service Fees

Card fees push offshore fraud costs onto Australians

AusPayNet has promised to escalate soaring card not present fraud offshore to its peak body card forum to discuss a possible fix. In meantime, local businesses and their customers are paying the price.

Merchant Service Fees

Paul Monnington takes the reigns at Mastercard in 2026

WPay boss Paul Monnington will take the reigns at Mastercard in Australia and New Zealand in January 2026, after Richard Wormald accepted a promotion to head up the company’s Asia Pacific region in Singapore.

Merchant Service Fees

CBA axes rewards partners as door closes on fee holiday

With the days of fee cross-subsidisation for bank rewards card programs coming to an end, CommBank is slashing its partners and amping up rhetoric in opposition to the Reserve Bank’s proposed interchange fee reductions.

Merchant Service Fees

CBA scheme fees warning piles pressure on RBA

The Reserve Bank’s hands off attitude to scheme fees will be tested by commentary from Australia’s biggest bank when it unveiled its financial results last week.

Merchant Service Fees

RBA tries to head off critics of surcharge assumptions

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) yesterday moved to head off criticism of the data it used in its Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging consultation paper.

Merchant Service Fees

Merchants cop more card fee increases, despite RBA pressure

Merchant fees across Australia's major payment networks have increased over the past six months, despite intensified regulatory scrutiny from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

Merchant Service Fees

Coalition chaos over surcharge ban, card fees

With Treasury spokesman Ted O’Brien missing in action, mixed messages have come from coalition leadership on card payments and surcharging.

Merchant Service Fees

RBA reforms stoke fee and bargaining distortions in the payments sector

The Reserve Bank’s inaction on blended rate plans and its unwillingness to strengthen collective bargaining with banks have narrowed strategic options for small businesses.

Merchant Service Fees

Will NZ retailers get their “no tap” signs out after proposed POS surcharge ban?

New Zealand retailers may be reaching for their “no tap” terminal signs again, after their government proposed a ban on surcharges for most Visa and Mastercard POS payments this week.

Merchant Service Fees

NZ continues surcharging and preserves zero debit interchange option

New Zealand's Commerce Commission has retained a zero debit interchange option for merchants, continued card surcharging and reduced other interchange fees for businesses accepting Visa and Mastercard payments.

Merchant Service Fees

Is now the time for merchants and Government to actively back alternative payments?

With the cost of card payments firmly in the spotlight, it seems a good time to ask - why aren't Australian merchants and regulators doing more to support and promote cheaper, alternative rails like account-to-account (A2A) payments?

Fintech

Buyout target Smartpay exposed to fallout from RBA reforms

Publication of the RBA’s payments roadmap put Tyro’s share price under pressure on Tuesday, but the business fallout will be more widely distributed in the payments sector.

Fintech

Retailers accuse RBA of “political fix” on card fees

Small business groups say the RBA’s proposed reforms won’t bring down card fees anywhere near as much as anticipated, and consumers will end up paying higher prices.

Merchant Service Fees

eCommerce jobs go as Tyro implements new product and technology model

With its future under the cloud of a languishing share price, US rivals looking to Australia for acquisitions, and the RBA set to up end its business model, Tyro is vowing to go it alone.

Merchant Service Fees

Interchange fees infringe EU competition law, says London tribunal

Visa and Mastercard's interchange fees infringe competition law, a London tribunal has ruled in the latest round of the ongoing legal battle.

Merchant Service Fees

RBA options paper set to ignite heated debate on card fees and surcharging

When the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kicks off its consultation on the Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging next Tuesday, Australia will have three big payments consultations running in tandem. Why?

Merchant Service Fees

Visa introduces new scheme fees

Visa has started informing clients about two upcoming scheme fee hikes, PayDay News understands.

Merchant Service Fees