Least-cost Routing of Debit Card Transactions

Least-cost routing (LCR) is functionality that promotes competition in the debit card market and helps to reduce payment costs in the economy.

Background on debit cards and payment costs

When a merchant (e.g. a shop or business) accepts payment from a customer via a debit or credit card, the merchant is charged a fee by their bank or payments provider. Higher payments costs for merchants feed through into higher prices for goods and services, so merchants are typically keen to hold down their payments costs, just as they try to reduce other costs of doing business.

Debit cards are cards issued by banks, credit unions or building societies that allow individuals to make purchases or cash withdrawals from their deposit account. In Australia, debit card transactions can be processed through one of three debit card scheme networks: eftpos, Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit. Usually, the transaction draws on the same deposit account, regardless of the scheme that processes it. But the cost the merchant faces from their financial institution for accepting a debit card transaction can vary depending on which of the three networks processes the transaction. For many merchants, payments via the eftpos network can be significantly less expensive than payments via the international Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit networks.

Most debit cards in Australia have a functionality that enables a payment to be processed via either eftpos or one of the two international networks. These are called dual-network debit cards. These cards have an international scheme logo (Mastercard or Visa) on one side and the eftpos logo on the other.

There has been strong growth in the use of debit cards by Australians. This has been spurred by the convenience of contactless payments technology. Contactless payments make up most of in-person card payments.

In the past, customers would typically insert their dual-network debit card into a terminal to make a payment and were asked to select which network to use. For example, a customer may select the eftpos network by pressing the CHQ or SAV buttons, or they may select the international network by pressing the ‘Visa Debit’, ‘Debit Mastercard’ or CR button (in the latter case, it is still a debit transaction even though traditionally the button has been labelled ‘CR’ for credit).

When a customer makes a contactless payment by tapping their dual-network debit card on a terminal, the transaction is automatically routed to the default network programmed on the card, which is typically the Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit network. These international networks are generally more expensive for merchants than the eftpos network. As a result, the Bank has strongly supported the introduction of LCR.

What is least-cost routing?

When a customer makes a payment with their dual-network debit card, the merchant may choose to send the transaction via the debit network that costs them the least to accept. This is known as ‘least-cost routing’ or ‘merchant-choice routing’. If the merchant chooses not to route, the transaction will be sent via the default network.

In the past, LCR has only been possible for in-person contactless (‘tap and go’) transactions made with a physical debit card, as online payments and mobile-wallet transactions could only be processed via the international networks (Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard). However, LCR is now becoming available for online transactions following eftpos’ enablement of online payments functionality. The Reserve Bank also expects LCR to become available for mobile-wallet transactions in the future; see the ‘Developments since the 2019-21 Review’ section below for more detail.

If a merchant uses LCR, it does not affect which deposit account the funds are paid from, and the three networks offer similar protections to the cardholder from fraud and disputed transactions for in-person transactions. A customer can always select a particular debit network by inserting their card and selecting a network rather than tapping their card when making an in-person transaction. And LCR only applies to dual-network debit card transactions; it does not affect customers using credit cards.

LCR is expected to bring down payment costs by (1) giving merchants the ability to route dual-network debit card transactions to the lowest-cost network, and (2) increasing the competitive pressure between the debit card payment schemes such that there is greater incentive for all schemes to lower the fees – interchange fees and scheme fees – that they set on debit card transactions. These fees are a key component of the price that merchants pay to accept card payments.

A number of government reports have called for banks and payment providers to provide merchants with LCR. This includes the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics Third Report on the Review of the Four Major Banks, the Productivity Commission Draft Report on Competition in the Australian Financial System, the Black Economy Task Force Final Report and the Australian Government’s Strategic Plan for Australia’s Payments System.

What is the RBA doing on least-cost routing?

Background

The Reserve Bank’s Payments System Board is charged with promoting competition and efficiency in the Australian payments system. In line with this mandate, the Board strongly supports the issuance of dual-network cards to consumers and the provision of LCR functionality to merchants.

Following pressure from the Reserve Bank over a number of years, most banks and payment providers had introduced some form of LCR functionality for contactless debit card transactions by the middle of 2019. However, at that time, take-up among merchants remained fairly low, which may have reflected a general lack of awareness among merchants of the potential benefits of LCR, along with a lack of promotion by some acquirers. While the competitive pressure associated with LCR appeared to have resulted in lower interchange rates for some merchants, particularly larger ones, there was some evidence that this had been accompanied by increases in rates on some other types of debit transactions, including where LCR was not an option.

A number of other trends had posed further challenges for LCR. These included: the shift towards new technologies for card payments, such as mobile wallets, where LCR was not possible; and some card issuers moving towards issuing single-network debit cards which only allow payments to be processed through one network. The Bank had also heard concerns from some merchants that they may be penalised by higher interchange rates on their credit transactions if they adopt LCR for debit transactions.

2019-21 Review of Retail Payments Regulation

These issues were considered as part of the 2019-21 Review of Retail Payments Regulation. Following this review, in October 2021 the Bank decided to adopt further policy measures to promote dual-network debit card issuance and LCR:

  • First, the Bank expects all large debit card issuers (with more than 1 per cent of the total value of debit card transactions) to issue dual-network debit cards.
  • Additionally, to limit the incentive for card issuers to issue single-network debit cards, the Bank introduced an 8 cent cap on the weighted-average interchange fee for single-network debit cards (the same as for dual-network debit cards).
  • Further, all acquirers and payment facilitators that provide card acceptance services to merchants are expected to offer and promote LCR to their merchants for in-person and for online transactions. Acquirers and payment facilitators are expected to report to the Bank every six months on their LCR offerings, and on merchant take-up of LCR.
  • The Bank sought voluntary undertakings from the international schemes that they will not penalise merchants that route transactions through eftpos with higher interchange rates on their credit transactions, as this would disincentivise the take-up of LCR and limit competitive pressure in the debit card market. The Bank also engaged with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on some of the competition issues associated with LCR.

For a more detailed summary of the policy decisions relating to LCR that came out of the 2019-21 Review, see the Executive Summary of the Conclusions to the Review of Retail Payments Regulation.

Developments since the 2019-21 Review

Since the conclusion of the Review, the Bank has been actively monitoring industry progress in issuing dual-network debit cards and providing merchants with access to LCR consistent with the Board’s expectations. To provide greater transparency on the extent to which providers are supporting LCR, the RBA publishes a table on LCR availability and take-up across the major acquirers for card-present and online transactions.

LCR for card-present transactions

As at the end of 2023, LCR was widely available to merchants and take-up by merchants had increased over the previous year. In August 2023, the Board communicated that it expects providers to make faster progress on enabling LCR for merchants that could benefit from it. If providers do not make substantial progress by June 2024, the Bank will explore a formal regulatory requirement to enable LCR.

LCR for online transactions

As at the end of 2023, some providers had made LCR widely available for online transactions but other providers had more work to do. The take-up of online LCR by merchants remained low for most providers. Following its August 2023 meeting, the Board reiterated that it expects providers to make LCR widely available for online transactions and also noted that it expects faster progress on enabling LCR for merchants that could benefit from it.

LCR for mobile wallet transactions

In August 2022 the Board announced a further policy measure relating to LCR. Given the rapid ongoing growth in mobile wallet transactions and the benefits for competition and efficiency in the payments system, the Board expects the industry to develop LCR functionality for mobile-wallet transactions. This decision followed indications that implementing LCR for mobile-wallet transactions would be more feasible and less costly than previously indicated. Following further consultation with the industry, in November 2022 the Board indicated that it considers it to be both feasible and desirable for the industry to deliver LCR functionality for mobile wallet transactions by the end of 2024 (see Payments System Board Update: November 2022 Meeting for further details).

Undertakings prohibiting tying conduct to support LCR

Mastercard and Visa have each given undertakings to the Bank that they will not engage in ‘tying conduct’ involving their debit and credit card products, effective from 1 July 2023. The undertakings address concerns that the international schemes could engage in conduct that would limit competitive pressure in the debit card market, which has the potential to impose additional costs on the payments system. This will help realise the benefits of LCR by ensuring the debit schemes compete solely on the basis of their debit card offering.

How can a merchant switch on least-cost routing?

Merchants should ask their payment services provider about the availability of LCR. If merchants are unable to access LCR from their current payment provider, they may choose to consider alternative providers. LCR may require an upgrade to payment terminal software, and in some cases a replacement of the terminal itself.