Eftpos interchange fees cannot be consistent with debit card fees according to the Australian Retailers Association.



The ARA and the Australian Payment Merchants Forum (AMPF) say they are concerned at a Reserve Bank of Australia proposal to subject Eftpos interchange fees to the same regulation as Visa and MasterCard's debit cards.



Chairman of the AMPF and ARA executive director, Russell Zimmerman, said interchange fees were typically paid by merchants to card issuers to fund the costs of cardholder benefits. But the RBA's suggestion would increase the cost of Eftpos transactions for all Australian retailers.



"Currently, Visa and MasterCard interchange fees are regulated to be an average of 12c per transaction but it's difficult to understand why card issuers should receive 12 cents for each Eftpos transaction.



"Debit cards are a mature product and the cost of processing transactions using Eftpos is minimal. In fact in New Zealand, whose banking market is dominated by the major Australian banks, debit card payments at retailers do not attract any interchange fee.



"Consumers, who use less costly payment instruments, including Eftpos cards, effectively subsidise consumers paying with more costly payment instruments like scheme-branded credit and debit cards. The RBA's latest proposal will price every debit card payment at the highest existing rate," Zimmerman said.



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