Current Regulatory Framework
Under the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998, the Reserve Bank has the power to designate a payment system, 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 designations, standards and 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.
On several occasions, organisations have provided written undertakings to the Bank. These undertakings are listed here for completeness because they affect the operation of the organisations even though they have not been imposed by the Bank.
Go To
Credit and Charge Cards
| Title | System | Commencement Date | Date of Gazettal | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designation [PDF] | MasterCard | 12 Apr 2001 | 12 Apr 2001 | 2001-09 |
| Designation [PDF] | Visa | 12 Apr 2001 | 12 Apr 2001 | 2001-09 |
|
Standard No. 2 Merchant Pricing for Credit Card Purchases [PDF] |
MasterCard | 1 Jan 2003 | 27 Aug 2002 | 2002-15 |
|
Standard No. 2 Merchant Pricing for Credit Card Purchases [PDF] |
Visa | 1 Jan 2003 | 27 Aug 2002 | 2002-15 |
| Standard: The Setting of Wholesale ("Interchange") Fees in the Designated Credit Card Schemes (Compilation) [PDF] |
MasterCard, Visa |
1 Jul 2006 |
27 Apr 2006 Variation: 10 Dec 2008 |
2006-02 2008-28 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | MasterCard | 23 Feb 2004 | 23 Feb 2004 | 2004-02 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | Visa | 23 Feb 2004 | 23 Feb 2004 | 2004-02 |
| Undertaking [PDF] | American Express | 1 Sep 2004 | - | 2002-15 |
| Undertaking [PDF] | Diners Club | 16 Aug 2002 | - | 2002-15 |
American Express’ original undertaking, provided in August 2002, was revised in 2004 following a corporate restructure.
| System |
Commencement Date |
Benchmark | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| MasterCard, Visa [PDF] | 1 Nov 2006 | 0.50 per cent of transaction value | 2006-08 |
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.
Debit Cards
| Title | System | Commencement Date | Date of Gazettal | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designation [PDF] | Visa Debit | 23 Feb 2004 | 23 Feb 2004 | 2004-01 |
| Designation [PDF] | EFTPOS | 9 Sep 2004 | 9 Sep 2004 | 2004-08 |
| Standard: The Setting of Interchange Fees in the EFTPOS System (Compilation) [PDF] | EFTPOS | 1 Jul 2006 |
27 Apr 2006 Variation: 10 Dec 2008 27 Nov 2009 |
2006-02 2008-28 2009-27 |
| Standard: The Setting of Interchange Fees in the Visa Debit Payment System (Compilation) [PDF] | Visa Debit | 7 Jul 2006 |
7 Jul 2006 Variation: 10 Dec 2008 |
2006-04 2008-28 |
| Standard: The 'Honour All Cards' Rule in the Visa Debit and Visa Credit Card Systems and the 'No Surcharge' Rule in the Visa Debit System [PDF] | Visa Debit | 1 Jan 2007 | 7 Jul 2006 | 2006-04 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | Visa Debit | 1 Sep 2005 | 22 Aug 2005 | 2005-10 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | EFTPOS System | 13 Sep 2006 | 13 Sep 2006 | 2006-06 |
| Undertaking [PDF] | Debit MasterCard |
1 Jul 2006 (Interchange) 1 Jan 2007 (Honour all cards) |
- |
2006-04 2006-04 |
In July 2006, MasterCard provided the Reserve Bank with a written undertaking to voluntarily comply with the Debit Interchange Standard and the Honour all Cards Standard.
| System | Commencement Date | Benchmark | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| EFTPOS System (Bilateral Fees) or PDF | 1 Nov 2006 | 4–5 cents per transaction | 2006-06 |
| EFTPOS System (Multilateral Fees) or PDF | 1 Jan 2010 | 12 cents per transaction | 2009-27 |
| Visa Debit or PDF | 1 Nov 2006 | 12 cents per transaction | 2006-08 |
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.
ATM System
| Title | Commencement Date | Date of Gazettal | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designation [PDF] | 10 Dec 2008 | 10 Dec 2008 | 2008-28 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | 3 Mar 2009 | 24 Feb 2009 | 2009-03 |
| Exemption Number | Description | Commencement Date |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
The Reserve Bank may grant an exemption to a participant in the ATM system from any or all of the requirements of clause 11 of the Access Regime for the ATM System in accordance with clause 16 of the Access Regime.
