By Raphael Michilis
The era of abusive credit cards fees in Australian retailers might soon come to an end, as the Reserve Bank of Australia announced today that merchants will be forbidden to profit from credit card fees.
The new rules set by RBA’s Payment System Board determines that , from 1st January 2013, Australian retailers will be allowed to only charge customers fees enough to cover their expenses with the card transaction.
"The bank believes that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that such practices [credit card surcharges] are now relatively widespread and that the use of the freedoms provided to merchants by the (previous) surcharging reforms is (sic) no longer entirely in line with the original intent of the reforms," said RBA in an official statement.
The new regulation will also allow card providers such as Visa and MasterCard to take action against businesses who charge excessive fees.
"The Bank intends that its variation will improve price signals by enabling a card scheme to address cases where merchants are clearly surcharging at a higher level than is justified for acceptance of its card products."
The Reserve Bank of Australia has also commenced a re-evaluation of the system governing EFTPOS (electronic debit card) transactions and said a new regulation might come into force by January 2014.
Related article:
Reserve Bank of Australia to lead mobile payments
The era of abusive credit cards fees in Australian retailers might soon come to an end, as the Reserve Bank of Australia announced today that merchants will be forbidden to profit from credit card fees.
The new rules set by RBA’s Payment System Board determines that , from 1st January 2013, Australian retailers will be allowed to only charge customers fees enough to cover their expenses with the card transaction.
"The bank believes that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that such practices [credit card surcharges] are now relatively widespread and that the use of the freedoms provided to merchants by the (previous) surcharging reforms is (sic) no longer entirely in line with the original intent of the reforms," said RBA in an official statement.
The new regulation will also allow card providers such as Visa and MasterCard to take action against businesses who charge excessive fees.
"The Bank intends that its variation will improve price signals by enabling a card scheme to address cases where merchants are clearly surcharging at a higher level than is justified for acceptance of its card products."
The Reserve Bank of Australia has also commenced a re-evaluation of the system governing EFTPOS (electronic debit card) transactions and said a new regulation might come into force by January 2014.
Related article:
Reserve Bank of Australia to lead mobile payments
No comments:
Post a Comment