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Regulation

News on regulation, including from Treasury, the RBA, ACCC, AUSTRAC and other authorities

Regulation

+2

QR, Crypto and PayTo fail to attract consumer take up despite investments: RBA
LockSimple

Jun 3, 2026

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QR, Crypto and PayTo fail to attract consumer take up despite investments: RBA

Continuing investment and marketing spend on QR, Crypto and PayTo payments have failed to convince consumers to walk away from the convenience and speed of traditional cards, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest Consumer Payment Behaviour Survey. But PayID is bucking the trend and starting to take off.

Regulation

Record electric vehicle sales as the bowser bites family budgets
LockSimple

Jun 3, 2026

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Record electric vehicle sales as the bowser bites family budgets

Boasting nearly $700 a year savings, the switch to electric vehicles has never looked so good for Aussies amid the Middle East conflict-induced petrol price hikes.

Fintech

+1

From Block HQ, ASIC challenges payments fintechs to step up innovation and lending competition
LockSimple

May 27, 2026

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From Block HQ, ASIC challenges payments fintechs to step up innovation and lending competition

ASIC is preparing a pathway for payments fintechs and platforms like Stripe, Block, PayPal and Tyro to ramp up competition with banks in the increasingly hot business lending market and Buy Now Pay Later.

Regulation

+2

ACCC assesses competition impact of Mastercard’s BVNK acquisition
LockSimple

May 20, 2026

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ACCC assesses competition impact of Mastercard’s BVNK acquisition

The ACCC has called for submissions about the potential competition impacts of Mastercard’s proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK.

Cash

+3

Bank flags help catch smoke crooks, as Tyro cuts tobacco list by 30%
LockSimple

May 20, 2026

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Bank flags help catch smoke crooks, as Tyro cuts tobacco list by 30%

Bank reporting of illegal tobacco to AUSTRAC is ramping up and starting to have real world impacts, with suspect funds being confiscated after accounts were flagged by ANZ and Westpac. But there is a lot more to be done ... stores remain open and the trade continues to shift online, as illicit alcohol looms as the next big underworld threat.

Fintech

+1

CGT reform fears spark fintech founder backlash over innovation exodus
LockSimple

May 20, 2026

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CGT reform fears spark fintech founder backlash over innovation exodus

Australia’s fintech sector has warned proposed capital gains tax reforms could cripple startup investment, weaken employee equity incentives and push founders, talent and capital offshore just as global competition for technology innovation intensifies.

Digital & Online

+1

Project Acacia closes with a quiet pivot: existing rails could do most of the wholesale CBDC's job
LockSimple

May 20, 2026

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Project Acacia closes with a quiet pivot: existing rails could do most of the wholesale CBDC's job

Project Acacia concludes that Australia's existing payments and settlement infrastructure can carry most of the load a production wholesale central bank digital currency was expected to, if industry coordinates. Unsurprisingly, Australian Payments Plus, one of 13 lead industry organisations on the project, and owner of the New Payments Platform (NPP), has come to the same view.

Cash

+1

ACCC and RBA to step up in cash distribution role
LockSimple

May 6, 2026

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ACCC and RBA to step up in cash distribution role

Whilst the new pricing model for Armaguard continues to be delayed, Treasury is requesting feedback on a cash distribution bill, one that assigns new powers to the ACCC and RBA to ensure the sustainability of cash services in Australia.

Digital & Online

+1

10,000 pages of law and $140 billion in wages: inside Employment Hero's AI co-employment play
LockSimple

Apr 29, 2026

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10,000 pages of law and $140 billion in wages: inside Employment Hero's AI co-employment play

As Payday Super looms, Employment Hero is banking on AI to help streamline workforces and create return on investment.

Digital & Online

+1

Apple Pay “tax” row intensifies as inquiry evidence collides
LockSimple

Apr 29, 2026

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Apple Pay “tax” row intensifies as inquiry evidence collides

Inquiry evidence has sharpened the fight over Apple Pay fees, with banks warning of competitive barriers while the RBA’s own cost framework appears to entrench wallet charges.

Merchant Service Fees

+2

Fee fog thickens as Visa and Mastercard sidestep parliamentary scrutiny
LockSimple

Apr 29, 2026

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Fee fog thickens as Visa and Mastercard sidestep parliamentary scrutiny

As the Reserve Bank moves to increase transparency on fees, the global card giants deflect detailed parliamentary questions on $2 billion in scheme fees. They have instead leaned on global narratives, while avoiding direct answers on Australian cost increases and merchant impacts.

Digital & Online

+1

ASX finally live with $125m CHESS Release 1
LockSimple

Apr 22, 2026

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ASX finally live with $125m CHESS Release 1

After years of regulatory pressure and a significant system crash, the ASX is finally live with CHESS Release 1, with all Approved Market Operators advised they were successfully connected this week.

Cash

+1

Cash use trending up and “essential”: RBA
LockSimple

Apr 22, 2026

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Cash use trending up and “essential”: RBA

With $107 billion in cash notes circulating in the economy, the Reserve Bank reaffirms its commitment to “ensure cash remains a viable means of payment". New data shows around half of Australians use cash every week, and about 1.5 million adults rely on it as their main form of payment.

Regulation

+2

Cuscal spends $48m on NZ EFTPOS network amid sector modernisation program
LockSimple

Apr 22, 2026

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Cuscal spends $48m on NZ EFTPOS network amid sector modernisation program

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is keen to prioritise an account-to-account network but industry body Payments NZ is concerned that security issues should take priority.

Merchant Service Fees

+3

Wake up! Only 162 days before surcharge ban kicks in
LockSimple

Apr 22, 2026

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Wake up! Only 162 days before surcharge ban kicks in

With just 162 days left until the first round of changes to Australia’s retail payment system, the payments industry is having mixed reactions to the most significant changes in a generation, but you wouldn’t know it.

Merchant Service Fees

+2

ACCC takes on Mastercard in Federal Court
LockSimple

Apr 15, 2026

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ACCC takes on Mastercard in Federal Court

The ACCC's landmark competition case against Mastercard opened in the Federal Court on Monday, with senior counsel for the regulator, John Sheahan, walking Justice Wigney through the evidence.

Merchant Service Fees

+2

Schemes allow surcharging in the US as RBA shuts the door here
LockSimple

Apr 15, 2026

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Schemes allow surcharging in the US as RBA shuts the door here

In a cruel irony for Australian small businesses, Mastercard and Visa have changed the rule book in the US to allow surcharging on credit cards, just as the Reserve Bank of Australia bans the practice in Australia.

Merchant Service Fees

+2

The RBA killed the one tool that could help SMEs navigate the surcharge ban
LockSimple

Apr 15, 2026

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The RBA killed the one tool that could help SMEs navigate the surcharge ban

The Reserve Bank, the same regulator that banned surcharging, has also killed the idea of a payments comparison website, the one tool that would have let small businesses actually shop around for a better deal on card acceptance fees. And it did so despite Australia's biggest bank offering to pay for it.

Regulation

+2

Citizens left holding the bill as the government undermines its payments reform agenda
LockSimple

Apr 8, 2026

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Citizens left holding the bill as the government undermines its payments reform agenda

As Canberra bans surcharges in October, a glaring loophole has been left open that hands NAB the country's biggest commercial card windfall. Taxpayers will be forced to cover the cost of expensive corporate credit cards used to pay for government services, while public servants will inflict pain on small businesses every time they open their wallets, forcing up prices.

Fintech

+3

Game on. PSPs and acquirers fight to survive in a post-surcharge world
LockSimple

Apr 8, 2026

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Game on. PSPs and acquirers fight to survive in a post-surcharge world

Ahead of what is likely to be the biggest Payment Service Provider (PSP) and acquiring market shakeup in decades, Tyro, Zeller, Westpac and CBA are already wooing customers for the post-surcharging world, while ANZ remains mum on its plans for ANZ Worldline.

Regulation

+1

How the RBA created the surcharge snafu it now blames on others
LockSimple

Apr 8, 2026

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How the RBA created the surcharge snafu it now blames on others

Amidst high inflation, global uncertainty and surging fuel prices, Michele Bullock announced the controversial surcharging ban last week by saying the system "no longer works as intended." What she didn't say is that she was one of the people who made it work the way it did.

Cash

+4

"The fees don't disappear": voices calling foul on Australia's surcharge ban
LockSimple

Apr 8, 2026

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"The fees don't disappear": voices calling foul on Australia's surcharge ban

Over the past week, commentary from across industry - Brad Kelly, the co-founder of the Independent Payments Forum (IPF), John Arnott, Director of AMP Bank Go, Jason Bryce, a Melbourne-based financial journalist and founder of CashWelcome.org, and Dr Fei Gao, Lecturer from the University of Sydney Business School - has highlighted the level of concern about the RBA’s decision during a period of high inflation and economic uncertainty.

Fintech

+3

Fintechs grapple with stark no-surcharge future
LockSimple

Apr 1, 2026

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Fintechs grapple with stark no-surcharge future

Following the Reserve Bank’s no surcharge decision, a gaggle of well-known fintechs including Zeller, Shift4, Zero, PayNuts, Square and Tyro may need to rebuild their business models and, in some cases, technology stacks, or risk losing massive market share back to the big banks.

Regulation

+2

Inflation fuel: RBA gifts banks and US card schemes a big win on cards fees and surcharges
LockSimple

Apr 1, 2026

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Inflation fuel: RBA gifts banks and US card schemes a big win on cards fees and surcharges

Yesterday’s glossy, spin-doctored RBA announcement felt more like a corporate launch than a regulatory decision, complete with case studies, vox pops and puffed up stats to back in the central bank’s long-awaited decision. But while the banks, the ACCC and US card schemes were celebrating their lobbying efforts on interchange relief and surcharging bans, small businesses were considering how much they will need to lift prices to deal with the thousands of dollars in extra fees they will need to pay come October.

Regulation

+2

NZ blocks surcharge ban, UK prioritises "tackling high card fees"
LockSimple

Apr 1, 2026

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NZ blocks surcharge ban, UK prioritises "tackling high card fees"

Australia's Reserve Bank will ban business from surcharging the cost of card transactions from October 1, all whilst the rest of the world grapples with reducing the impact of high merchant fees on small businesses.

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