Current Regulations
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Designations
Made Under the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998
Under Section 11(1) of the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998, the Reserve Bank may designate a payment system if it considers that designating the system is in the public interest. This page provides links to current designations and to relevant media releases.
| System | Date of Gazettal | Media Release |
|---|---|---|
| MasterCard [PDF] | 12 April 2001 | 2001-09 |
| Visa [PDF] | 12 April 2001 | 2001-09 |
| Visa Debit [PDF] | 23 February 2004 | 2004-01 |
| EFTPOS System (Broad defintion) [PDF] | 9 September 2004 | 2004-08 |
| ATM System [PDF] | 10 December 2008 | 2008-28 |
| EFTPOS System (Narrow definition) [PDF] | 12 June 2012 | 2012-15 |
Standards and Access Regimes Imposed by the Reserve Bank Under the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act
Under the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998, the Reserve Bank has the power to impose an access regime on a payments system and to establish standards to be complied with by participants in the system. This page provides links to standards, interchange fee benchmarks calculated in accordance with standards, access regimes, exemptions from the interchange fee provisions of the Access Regime for the ATM System and relevant media releases.
| System | Commencement Date | Benchmark | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bank has waived the requirement to recalculate these benchmarks for the 2012/13 year. The Bank has previously waived the requirement for the 2009/10 year. Under the current standards, these benchmarks will continue to apply until a scheduled recalculation in 2015/16. | |||
|
EFTPOS System (Broad defintion) – Bilateral fees or PDF |
1 Nov 2006 | 4–5 cents per transaction (paid to the acquirer) |
2006-06 |
|
EFTPOS System (Broad definition) – Multilateral fees or PDF |
1 Jan 2010 | 12 cents per transaction | 2009-27 |
| Forthcoming: | |||
| EFTPOS System (Narrow definition) – Bilateral fees | 1 Jul 2013 | Same as the Visa Debit benchmark: 12 cents per transaction | 2012-35 |
| Forthcoming: | |||
| EFTPOS System (Narrow definition) – Multilateral fees | 1 Jul 2013 | Same as the Visa Debit benchmark: 12 cents per transaction | 2012-35 |
| MasterCard, Visa [PDF] | 1 Nov 2006 | 0.50 per cent of transaction value | 2006-08 |
| Visa Debit or PDF | 1 Nov 2006 | 12 cents per transaction | 2006-08 |
| System | Commencement Date | Date of Gazettal | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| MasterCard [PDF] | 23 Feb 2004 | 23 Feb 2004 | 2004-02 |
| Visa [PDF] | 23 Feb 2004 | 23 Feb 2004 | 2004-02 |
| Visa Debit [PDF] | 1 Sep 2005 | 22 Aug 2005 | 2005-10 |
| EFTPOS System (Broad definition) [PDF] | 13 Sep 2006 | 13 Sep 2006 | 2006-06 |
| ATM System (Compilation) [PDF] | 3 Mar 2009 | 24 Feb 2009 Variation: 29 Aug 2012 |
2009-03 2012-24 |
| System | Effective until | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| EFTPOS (Broad definition) | 31 December 2013 | $87,776 |
| Exemption Number | Description | Commencement Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Reserve Bank may grant an exemption to a participant in the ATM system from any or all of the requirements of paragraphs 11 and 12 of the Access Regime for the ATM System in accordance with paragraph 16 of the Access Regime. | ||
| No 1 of 2009 [PDF] | Arrangement between Cashcard Limited and Bank of Western Australia Limited in relation to Commonwealth Bank of Australia. | 16 Jul 2009 |
| No 1 of 2012 [PDF] | Arrangement among ATM industry participants in relation to ATM access for very remote Indigenous communities. | 29 Aug 2012 |
Undertakings
On several occasions, organisations have provided written undertakings to the Reserve Bank in relation to standards determined under section 18 of the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998. Even though these undertakings have not been imposed by the Bank, they can affect the operation of those organisations and are included here for completeness.
In August 2002, American Express and Diners Club provided the Reserve Bank with written undertakings to remove restrictions preventing merchants from charging any fee or surcharge for the use of their cards. American Express revised its undertaking in September 2004 following a corporate restructure. Both American Express and Diners Club provided revised undertakings to the Reserve Bank in March 2013 to reflect changes to the Surcharging Standards that became effective in March 2013.
In July 2006, MasterCard provided the Reserve Bank with a written undertaking to voluntarily comply with the Debit Interchange Standard, and with the ‘Honour All Cards’ and the ‘No Surcharge’ Standard.
| Title | System | Commencement Date | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Undertaking [PDF] | American Express | 18 Mar 2013 | 2002-15 |
| Diners Club Undertaking [PDF] | Diners Club | 18 Mar 2013 | 2002-15 |
| Debit MasterCard Undertaking [PDF] | Debit MasterCard |
1 Jul 2006 (Interchange) 1 Jan 2007 (Honour All Cards and No Surcharge) |
2006-04 |
