Update on availability and enablement of least-cost routing for merchants Data as at December 2022 (first published March 2023)

This is an archived update on the availability and enablement of Least-cost Routing as at December 2022. For the most recent update, see: Update on availability and enablement of least-cost routing for merchants.

To provide greater transparency on the extent to which providers are supporting least-cost routing (LCR), the RBA publishes the table below on LCR availability and take-up across the major acquirers (Table 1). The table and subsequent commentary relate to LCR for ‘card-present’ (or in-person) transactions where a physical card is tapped.

Table 1: Least-cost Routing of Card-present Debit Card Transactions
Per cent of merchants, December 2022(a)
  Available to merchants Enabled for merchants
Square 100 100
Suncorp Bank 100 58
Tyro 100 56
Westpac 100 30
Fiserv 100 27
Adyen 100 17
ANZ Worldline 98 23
Commonwealth Bank 89 42
National Australia Bank 55 14
Total 90 53

(a) Excludes very large (strategic) merchants and merchants that supply their own payment terminals.

Sources: RBA

Providers have generally made good progress, with LCR available to be turned on for over 90 per cent of relevant merchants. Where there are gaps in availability, it is mainly due to providers needing to upgrade old terminals. These providers have assured the RBA that this will be completed in 2023. The RBA will publish an updated report every 6 months, which will ensure that these providers are held publicly accountable for delivering on their commitments.

In contrast, the take-up of LCR by merchants remains low, with just over half of merchants on plans with LCR enabled. Merchant groups have consistently highlighted that LCR is not easily accessible for merchants in practice. The table highlights that some providers have been much more successful than others in enabling LCR for their merchants. Providers that have yet to enable LCR for all their merchants are expected to do more to proactively encourage merchant take-up.

See: Least-cost Routing of Debit Card Transactions for more information, including details on what the Bank is doing on LCR.