Archive | PayDay News

Commentary

Sep 22, 2026

Three-party card schemes? Count again.

The distinction between three and four party schemes in Australia is increasingly blurry, writes Vibhu Arya.

The Interchange Bench

Sep 22, 2026

The Interchange Bench

On The Interchange Bench this week, Ollerenshaw joins Cuscal as chief people officer, Haylock goes to market at Hello, Amex serves up NFL slice of Americana, Visa’s up for some rugga schmoozing, and Visa/Mastercard settle US$167.5m ATM fee case.

Government

Sep 22, 2026

Treasury maps 40-year payments threat from AI and fragmentation

The Intergenerational Report warns AI-powered scams, cyberattacks and geopolitical fragmentation will reshape payment risks, while Payday Super embeds payments infrastructure in Australia’s long-term economic and retirement policy over the four decades ahead.

Banks

Sep 22, 2026

ACCC puts three-year leash on big bank regional ATM trial

The ACCC has approved an ABA regional ATM trial, but limited it to 20 machines, three years and narrowly defined collaboration between banks and service providers under competition law protection.

Digital & Online

Sep 22, 2026

Is CBA building Australia’s answer to BPCE's new merchant portal and Stripe?

Groupe BPCE has built a bank-owned merchant platform to challenge Stripe in Europe. Commonwealth Bank’s IPSI acquisition raises the question: is the same model coming to Australian merchants through IPSI technology?

Surcharging

Sep 22, 2026

Bullock warns of surcharge ban ‘hiccups’ from October 1

RBA Governor Michele Bullock expects to see problems after surcharging disappears next month, while small business merchants must wait months for clearer statements and regulators keep watch on scheme fees.

A2A

Sep 22, 2026

Beem moves to new website, with extra services "coming soon"

After a direct transfer of its Australian Payments Plus (AP+) relationship, the newly acquired Bolt Group app continues to be directly banked through Cuscal, despite its new owner’s recent debanking problems at Banking Circle.

Cards

Sep 22, 2026

Square debit switch puts pressure on eftpos and Cuscal

Square is routing debit transactions through Visa and Mastercard rather than eftpos, raising questions about Cuscal’s role and the future economics of Australia’s domestic debit network.

Fintech

Sep 18, 2026

Hello Clever wins Variant backing for global payments push

Sydney-based Hello Clever has secured backing from New York venture firm Variant as it builds a global payments layer designed to choose the best rail for each transaction.

Banks

Sep 18, 2026

Kiwis don't understand open banking but they want what it does

According to a Cuscal Paymark study, just 32% of New Zealanders understand open banking. Demand for what it delivers, however, is substantially higher, reinforcing evidence from Australia that products matter more than plumbing.

Digital & Online

Sep 18, 2026

Mastercard's wallet launch goes beyond cards with no Aussie partner

Mastercard has unveiled a global platform to put digital wallets onto its payments network, but no Australian bank, fintech, PSP or wallet provider has yet joined the rollout.

Surcharging

Sep 18, 2026

No-surcharge wallop leaves SMEs in the dark and out of pocket

Small businesses face tough calls on card payments as the October surcharge “ban” approaches, with confusion still widespread and almost half of Australians unaware of the change. Little Art Big Art founder Rachael Morris says she’s bracing to lose $100 on every 10 students.

Commentary

Sep 18, 2026

NSW Treasury's big payments bet

$200 billion-plus. That is the scale and opportunity around NSW Government's annual payment activity, with money moving in and out of government every day.

Sep 18, 2026

Westerlind Wigstrom manoeuvres to Redbelly in tokenisation bet

Just four months after exiting Monoova to spend more time with family, Christian Westerlind Wigstrom has reemerged as the new CEO of Redbelly Network.

Sep 18, 2026

Who has liability? Banks split from Visa & Apple on AI payments risks

Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Westpac and Macquarie want the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to move early on controls for payments made by artificial intelligence agents including market concentration and unresolved liability issues, while Visa, Mastercard, Apple and American Express argue that regulation would be premature.

Sep 17, 2026

AP+ searches for CPO as Lovney exit leaves leadership vacuum

Australian Payments Plus is recruiting a new Chief Product Officer after Adrian Lovney’s departure removed a long-time NPP champion and potential future CEO at a defining moment for payments.

Scams & Fraud

Sep 16, 2026

ASD warns Australian online stores under active cyber attack

Australian merchants using Adobe Commerce and Magento were last week urged to apply security patches immediately after authorities warned a critical vulnerability was being actively exploited.

Crypto

Sep 16, 2026

AUSTRAC crackdown is good for Aussie crypto, executives say

Crypto executives say AUSTRAC’s recent crackdowns will strengthen the industry’s legitimacy.

Scams & Fraud

Sep 16, 2026

Australians spared from Revolut data breach

Australian customers were not impacted after the global fintech was tricked into handing sensitive customer information to scammers raising fresh concerns about new ways that cybersecurity can be breached.

Cards

Sep 16, 2026

Coles Pay closes as the company steps into bank rewards void

Coles has shut down Coles Pay but is stepping up Flybuys rewards ahead of Christmas just as Australia’s banks cut credit card perks, reframe loyalty offerings and consumers increasingly shift their spending towards debit.

Surcharging

Sep 16, 2026

How the Amex surcharge escape clause works

In a regulatory free environment, American Express has created a Supplier Trade Fee (STF) allowing eligible B2B merchants to recover transaction costs after its October surcharge ban, provided the charge meets their own strict conditions.

A2A

Sep 16, 2026

India’s cracked the NFC tap barrier stifling A2A in Aussie retail

India has put account-to-account (A2A) payments behind the same tap consumers use for cards, potentially removing a critical adoption barrier that has frustrated Australian payment providers for almost a decade.

Commentary

Sep 16, 2026

November 1 is when things get messy

When the first post-surcharging merchant statements hit struggling small businesses on 1 November, expect a loud and ugly reaction to the bill shock.

Cash

Sep 16, 2026

Post office overhaul could further shrink cash and payments capability

Australia Post promises at least 4,000 retail outlets, but some already operate without cash and hundreds lack Bank@Post, raising questions about what cash and payment services will survive another looming round of network rationalisation.

The Interchange Bench

Sep 16, 2026

The Interchange Bench

On The Interchange Bench this week, TNS promotes PAX chief Johnson to global role, Walsh appointed pay’s marketing chief, Younes takes on platforms at Stripe, Edwards lands as head of credit at Pepper, Stripe hires LinkedIn AI specialist for AUNZ, France says cash remains a haven when economic fears rise, Binance Card lands on Apple Pay, AML businesses caught in false compliance and Europe urged to close cash loopholes.