MEDIA RELEASE No: 2003-12 Date: 19 September 2003 Embargo: For Immediate Release

REFORM OF CREDIT CARD SCHEMES IN AUSTRALIA

The Reserve Bank welcomes today's decision by the Federal Court on the reforms to credit card schemes.

The Reserve Bank's reforms, which allow merchants to recover the costs of accepting credit cards, determine objective cost-based benchmarks for setting interchange fees and liberalise access to the schemes, are designed to increase competition and efficiency in Australia's payments system.

The reforms have been progressively implemented over the course of 2003 and the court's decision clears the way for them to be completed over coming months. The Bank looks forward to working in a co-operative manner with the card schemes and their members to this end.