The newly released Strategic plan for the Australian payment system – Developed through consultation with regulators, industry, consumer and business representatives and feedback on previous input. consultation form – Chancellor of the Exchequer Jim Chalmers provided a rough overview, saying it “outlined the government’s vision for this area”. Challenges for reform Built on the key principles of reliability, accessibility, innovation and efficiency.
This strategy is built on five main pillars: Improved resilience Against Fraud, Fraud and Cyberattacks. Promote industry cooperation and competition to reduce transaction costs for SMEs. Supports widespread use of digital identities and consumer data rights (CDR) frameworks. And it embraces fintech innovations such as seamless cross-border payments and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).
It also includes a seven-year plan for: Phase out checkcurrently account for just 0.2% of non-cash payments, and are increasingly costly to maintain.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift from in-person shopping and physical forms of payment to online shopping and digital payments using a wide range of cards and devices.
“New digital products are changing how we pay and how companies offer payment services,” Chalmers said. Said.
“The government is committed to ensuring that Australia’s payment system remains fit for purpose now and in the future.”
Among the many changes outlined in the new strategy is a complete shift away from long-standing batch-based payment settlement systems that could take hours or days to process some transactions. . Nuclear power plantIntroduced in 2018 to provide near real-time payments through services such as Pay ID 24/7 money transfer service Osco.
Mr. Chalmers also issued a new expression of expectations – Updated the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) mission statement, taking steps such as increasing transparency and adopting climate reporting standards, and soliciting feedback on: Regulatory reform proposal and the license of payment service providers.
Explosive growth in mobile payments
Amelia Hammer, Strategy Director at Airwallex, said reforms are eagerly awaited, saying: “Australia is already 10 years ahead of the UK and Singapore in terms of putting in place a fit-for-purpose regulatory system for payments businesses. too late,” he warned.
“Australia needs a regulatory regime in the payments sector that works for small businesses and consumers as well as big banks,” he said, calling the current regime “anti-competitive and outdated” services. “It entrenches the power of the banks,” he said. Banks will continue to overcharge and under-service Australian businesses and consumers. “
Australian Bankers Association (ABA) CEO Anna Bly called The reform is “a long-awaited overhaul of the payment arteries that drive the Australian economy”.
“Payments are the lifeblood of our economy, but Australia is now using a 60-year-old system for many everyday consumer and business payments,” she said.
The change comes after figures show Australians have stopped traditional payments in droves, with 38% of Australians abandoning traditional payments. reportedly People left their wallets at home last year, twice as many as in 2019, and paid with their smartphones and smartwatches.
With 15 million registrations as of May 1st, PayID has grown dramatically and now accounts for 20% of all payments.
Newly released ABA-Accenture report 75% of payments are now made using cards, up from just 26% in 2007.
Mobile wallet app usage in particular has exploded in recent years, with 15.3 million cards added to mobile wallets last year, up from about 2 million five years ago.
Consumers used mobile wallets for 2.4 billion purchases worth $93 billion last year, up from 29.2 million worth of transactions ($746 million worth) five years ago.
With an average of nearly 500 cashless payments per capita per year, “Australia has seen a tremendous shift in customer banking and payment preferences in recent years,” said Brye, adding that Australians are “cashless.” We are at the forefront of introducing wireless payment methods.”
“Customers increasingly shop, pay or receive payments digitally and expect banking and payment services to be available digitally in a convenient, fast, cost-effective and secure format. It’s clear that this recent leap in technology is now an enduring consumer favourite.”