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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The original undertakings by American Express and Diners Club were provided in August 2002. The American Express undertaking was revised in 2004 following a corporate restructure. Both were revised in 2013 to reflect changes to the Surcharging Standards that became effective in March 2013. | ||||
| 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 (Compilation) [PDF] |
MasterCard | 1 Jan 2003 | 27 Aug 2002 Variations: 12 Jun 2012 28 Nov 2012 |
2002-15 2012-15 2012-34 |
| Standard No. 2 Merchant Pricing for Credit Card Purchases (Compilation) [PDF] |
Visa | 1 Jan 2003 |
27 Aug 2002 Variations: 12 Jun 2012 28 Nov 2012 |
2002-15 2012-15 2012-34 |
| 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 |
| 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 (Compilation) [PDF] | Visa, Visa Debit |
1 Jan 2007 | 7 Jul 2006 Variations: 12 Jun 2012 28 Nov 2012 |
2006-04 2012-15 2012-34 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | MasterCard | 23 Feb 2004 | 23 Feb 2004 | 2004-02 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | Visa | 23 Feb 2004 | 23 Feb 2004 | 2004-02 |
| American Express Undertaking [PDF] | American Express | 18 Mar 2013 | - | 2002-15 |
| Diners Club Undertaking [PDF] | Diners Club | 18 Mar 2013 | - | 2002-15 |
| 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. | |||
| MasterCard, Visa [PDF] | 1 Nov 2006 | 0.50 per cent of transaction value | 2006-08 |
Debit Cards
| Title | System | Commencement Date | Date of Gazettal | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 ‘No Surcharge’ Standard. | ||||
| Designation [PDF] | Visa Debit | 23 Feb 2004 | 23 Feb 2004 | 2004-01 |
| Designation [PDF] |
EFTPOS (Broad definition) |
9 Sep 2004 |
9 Sep 2004 |
2004-08 |
| Designation [PDF] | EFTPOS (Narrow definition) |
12 Jun 2012 | 12 Jun 2012 | 2012-15 |
| Standard: The Setting of Interchange Fees in the EFTPOS System (Compilation) [PDF] |
EFTPOS (Broad definition) |
1 Jul 2006 |
27 Apr 2006 Variations: 10 Dec 2008 27 Nov 2009 |
2006-02 2008-28 2009-27 |
| Forthcoming: | ||||
| Standard: Interchange Fees in the EFTPOS System [PDF] | EFTPOS (Narrow definition) |
1 Jul 2013 | 5 Dec 2012 | 2012-35 |
| 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 (Compilation) [PDF] | Visa, Visa Debit |
1 Jan 2007 | 7 Jul 2006 Variations: 12 Jun 2012 28 Nov 2012 |
2006-04 2012-15 2012-34 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | Visa Debit | 1 Sep 2005 | 22 Aug 2005 | 2005-10 |
| Access Regime [PDF] | EFTPOS (Broad definition) | 13 Sep 2006 | 13 Sep 2006 | 2006-06 |
| Debit MasterCard Undertaking [PDF] | Debit MasterCard |
1 Jul 2006 (Interchange) 1 Jan 2007 (Honour All Cards and No Surcharge) |
- | 2006-04 |
| 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 definition) – 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 | |
| Visa Debit or PDF | 1 Nov 2006 | 12 cents per transaction | 2006-08 | |
ATM System
| Title | Commencement Date | Date of Gazettal | Media Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designation [PDF] | 10 Dec 2008 | 10 Dec 2008 | 2008-28 |
| Access Regime (Compilation) [PDF] | 3 Mar 2009 | 24 Feb 2009 Variation: 29 Aug 2012 |
2009-03 2012-24 |
| 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 | |
