FinTech Voice, October 24, 2024

Hi FinTech Australia Community,

The Federal Government's announcement to ban debit surcharges in 2026, subject to further work by the RBA is one that we are closely monitoring. With the announcement of RBA's Issues Paper reviewing Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging, this is an important submission that we will be drafting after consulting with our members. See details in policy update section.

Sponsor our end of year celebrations! We are hosting our end of year events next month. If you're interested in fintech engagement, growing your networks and supporting the fintech community, please reach out.

Kind regards,

Rehan D’Almeida,

Chief Executive Officer,

FinTech Australia

Policy Update

Surcharging and Merchant Card Payment Costs Consultation

Following our updates earlier this week on the government's proposed debit surcharge ban and RBA's related review, we have set up a policy working group call for members to provide feedback on our submission to the RBA

Payment System Modernisation reforms

We have been closely tracking amendments to the the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998, which has now passed the House of Representatives. The reforms, which are contained in a superannuation package bill, modernise the regulatory framework by expanding the definitions of "payment system" and "participant" to cover emerging players like BNPL and digital wallet providers. We will continue to track the progress of this bill as it moves through the Senate and keep you updated.

Buy Now Pay Later regulations

With Buy Now Pay Later reforms (contained in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill) before the Senate, Treasury has been progressing accompanying draft regulations. FinTech Australia has met with Treasury to reiterate member concerns, initially canvassed in earlier consultation on the legislative package, on key aspects of the draft regulations including its proposed fee cap structure. We have requested further consultation on the regulations and will keep members updated.

Review of AI and the Australian Consumer Law

Treasury is consulting on its Review of AI and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and seeks input on whether current consumer laws are suitable to protect consumers who use AI, as well as support the responsible use of AI by businesses. This builds on previous consultations, including Mandatory Guardrails for High Risk AI which FinTech Australia recently made a submission on. FinTech Australia does not propose making a submission for this consultation, but please feel free to contact our policy team if this is of interest to you.

AUSTRAC Tranche 1 Industry Forum – Update

On 17 October 2024, FinTech Australia's policy team attended the AUSTRAC Tranche 1 Industry Forum. AUSTRAC outlined its consultation strategy on the AML/CTF Amendment Bill (Bill) and future AML/CTF Rules, with key takeaways including:

the Bill is expected to pass this year, with key implementation dates set for March and July 2026. The bill sets high-level principles, followed by detailed AML/CTF Rules and Guidance for implementation; and
Senate hearings on the bill are expected in late October 2024, with a final passage report due by mid-November 2024.

AUSTRAC is focused on simplifying the AML/CTF framework and will engage industry stakeholders through working groups to co-design guidance. If any members are interested in participating, please contact our policy team as AUSTRAC continues its engagement with us.

Cyber Security Legislative Package

On 9 October 2024, the Cyber Security Legislative Package was introduced in Parliament. The package is part of the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy and is currently under inquiry review by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. If passed, these Bills will implement reforms indicated in the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy and the related Consultation Paper. FinTech Australia does not propose making a submission for this consultation, but please feel free to contact our policy team if this is of interest to you.

We are working on the following submission:

Surcharging and Merchant Card Payment Costs Consultation

As mentioned in our recent policy communications, the Federal Government has announced plans to ban debit card surcharges starting in 2026. The RBA has released an Issues Paperas part of its Review into Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging, which seeks feedback on:

Whether current regulations on interchange and scheme fees continue to meet their objectives,
How greater transparency in fees could promote competition and reduce costs, and
Whether broader issues are impacting policies for card payments.

We recently made submissions on:

See our recent submissions on our website.

FinTech Australia regularly makes submissions to consultations across a wide range of policy and regulatory issues. Communications about how to get involved in these processes are distributed to our Policy Working Group membership.

Upcoming Events

Get excited for events and opportunities from FinTech Australia and the community!

Money20/20 USA will take place on the 27-30 October 2024 at The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas.
TP Minds Australia 2024 is taking place on 28 October 2024 in Sydney. This event brings together transfer pricing-related experts and policy makers to cover the latest transfer pricing topics, challenges and current developments affecting the region!
The Hong Kong FinTech Week will be happening on 28-29 October 2024 at the AsiaWorld Expo, Hong Kong.
The 9th edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) will take place from 6 - 8 November 2024 at the Singapore EXPO.
AI.Con[2024]: Data**AIis happening on the 7th of November 2024 at the Hilton, Sydney — The industry event designed by data and AI practitioners for practitioners to empower you to lead the future of innovation.
Be inspired by women making waves in the Australia payments industry and beyond at the Women in Payments Australia Symposium 2024 happening on November 21-22, 2024.
To celebrate the successes achieved in Australian-India trade relations and marking two years since the signing of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA), Austrade is hosting the India Market Update Roadshow 2024 in Sydney (26 Nov), Melbourne (28 Nov), and Perth (4 Dec). The event will cover a market briefing and a panel discussion with businesses that have been operating in this space in India. If you are interested in participating, please reach out to the team.

Opportunities to not miss

Applications are open for the fourth UBS Female Founder Award, which recognizes female founders or c-suite executives in the financial technology (fintech) and enterprise technology space. Apply today!

For more events from the community, see here.

Community Updates

Don't miss all the news and insights from our members and corporate partners from our newsroom.

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1 in 6 women in Australia retires in poverty – “Rich Woman, Poor Woman” by Pascale Helyar-Moray aims to address that. Read More or Register for the book launch event in Sydney.