Regulation

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

Regulation

RBA warns ASX transformation cannot put critical systems at risk

Sep 29, 2026

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RBA warns ASX transformation cannot put critical systems at risk

The Reserve Bank says ASX remains below expectations on governance, operational resilience and risk management, despite upgrading two facilities after improvements to the ageing CHESS settlement system during the year.

Regulation

Sep 10, 2026

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The fault lines in Australia's payments

Commentator Vibhu Arya breaks down the recent RBA submissions, analysing who is lobbying for what at a high level.

Regulation

Australia Post to drop Western Union as AUSTRAC opens investigation

Sep 9, 2026

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Australia Post to drop Western Union as AUSTRAC opens investigation

Western Union is now under enforcement investigation over its agent network six weeks before its biggest Australian agent walks after 22 years.

Regulation

Macquarie backs industry-wide A2A push as RBA priority

Sep 2, 2026

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Macquarie backs industry-wide A2A push as RBA priority

Macquarie wants AP+ running BECS and the NPP, while fintechs have attacked the NPP access costs.

Regulation

No deposits, as ACCC puts banks on a short leash for ATM trial

Aug 26, 2026

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No deposits, as ACCC puts banks on a short leash for ATM trial

The ACCC has cleared the National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ and Bank of Queensland to start their regional ATM experiment, but has clipped its duration and stopped them short of switching on multi-bank deposits before final approval.

Regulation

Harvey Norman, Latitude fined $55m over misleading interest-free campaign

Aug 5, 2026

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Harvey Norman, Latitude fined $55m over misleading interest-free campaign

Harvey Norman and Latitude have been hit with $55 million in Federal Court penalties after misleading millions of Australians about the true costs of a widely promoted interest-free finance offer.

Regulation

Public interest test on the line with RBA submission due in days

Aug 5, 2026

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Public interest test on the line with RBA submission due in days

Submissions to the Reserve Bank's payments review close Friday, with a warning of lopsided debate pushing wallets and Amex ahead of cards, cash and A2A.

Regulation

Australia's clubs can't hire their way out of AUSTRAC's new maths

Jul 22, 2026

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Australia's clubs can't hire their way out of AUSTRAC's new maths

Kinectify CEO, Joseph Martin, is in Australia for a few weeks, having just signed a run of club clients and met roughly 20 more venues in Queensland. His pitch is an arithmetic response to AUSTRAC’s new rules, and it should interest anyone in payments.

Regulation

Banks praised on illicit tobacco but industry says it’s an excise issue

Jul 1, 2026

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Banks praised on illicit tobacco but industry says it’s an excise issue

Metcash's first profit lift in the category and a wave of state raids suggest enforcement is starting to land, yet retailers, economists and Labor premiers warn the legislation on foot in Canberra does nothing about the price gap criminals rely on.

Regulation

RBA's next payments war set to engulf Apple, Amex, BNPL and Big Tech

Jun 24, 2026

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RBA's next payments war set to engulf Apple, Amex, BNPL and Big Tech

A new Reserve Bank review set to land tomorrow will open a fresh front on the payments battleground before merchants and the industry have recovered from the interchange and surcharge shock.

Regulation

Amex ordered to compensate customer after privacy breach

Jun 17, 2026

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Amex ordered to compensate customer after privacy breach

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has ordered American Express Australia to compensate a customer, apologise and strengthen internal controls after finding the card issuer failed to adequately protect personal information from unauthorised employee access.

Regulation

ASX admits CHESS claims misled market, faces $20.5m penalty

Jun 17, 2026

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ASX admits CHESS claims misled market, faces $20.5m penalty

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has struck a proposed settlement with ASX Limited after the market operator admitted it misled investors about the progress of its troubled CHESS replacement project.

Digital & Online

Australians yawn at CBDC as RBA explores future of digital money

Jun 10, 2026

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Australians yawn at CBDC as RBA explores future of digital money

Australians are more interested in solving real-world payment frustrations than adopting a digital version of the Australian dollar, according to early findings discussed by the Reserve Bank's Payments System Board.

Regulation

Industry considers who pays when PayTo goes wrong

Jun 10, 2026

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Industry considers who pays when PayTo goes wrong

More than 30 payment providers met with Australian Payments Plus (AP+) on Friday, as Revolut’s recent zombie fraud issue pushed PayTo's awkward liability question out of conference panels and into the operator's boardroom.

Regulation

Inside a Telstra impersonation scam that hit a Sydney grandmother

Jun 10, 2026

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Inside a Telstra impersonation scam that hit a Sydney grandmother

I'm writing about this scam because the mechanics of it map almost perfectly onto the scam categories regulators are now trying to price into law, and because the loss landed at a number, $3,000, that's about to mean something very specific under Australian rules. It’s also a case of a person’s brain being hacked, and not their phone!

Digital & Online

RBA signs off on RITS review as overhaul gathers pace

Jun 10, 2026

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RBA signs off on RITS review as overhaul gathers pace

The Reserve Bank's Board has approved a fresh review of Australia's critical settlement system, with the findings set to be released as work ramps up on a major modernisation program for the payments' backbone.

Merchant Service Fees

The RBA hasn't banned surcharges — and the difference matters

Jun 10, 2026

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The RBA hasn't banned surcharges — and the difference matters

Misunderstanding the scope of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s change of position will cost merchants real money and acquirers real customers — and that's a surcharge nobody agreed to.

Regulation

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

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

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

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

ACCC assesses competition impact of Mastercard’s BVNK acquisition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.