Australia is gearing up to include digital payment services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and others under the same regulatory framework as traditional payment methods like credit cards. The government announced its plans to introduce legislation to parliament this week, aimed at expanding regulations to encompass the burgeoning landscape of digital wallets.
The proposed legislation, initially mentioned last month, seeks to empower the Reserve Bank of Australia to oversee and regulate these emerging digital payment technologies that have witnessed a surge in popularity but have remained outside the purview of Australian payments law.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers emphasized the need to modernize the country’s payments system to align with the evolving economy. “We want to ensure the increasing use of digital payments fosters greater competition, innovation, and productivity across our entire economy,” Chalmers stated in a released statement.
Expected to be presented in parliament between Wednesday and Thursday, the legislation aims to respond to the swift rise in the use of digital wallets, especially among younger demographics. Recent data indicates that transactions from digital wallets constituted 35% of all card transactions in the June quarter, a significant surge from 10% recorded in early 2020.
Moreover, with two-thirds of Australians aged between 18 and 29 utilizing mobile payments, an exponential increase from pre-pandemic levels, the amendments aim to address the evolving payment landscape and introduce oversight mechanisms for systems or platforms deemed to pose a risk of “national significance.
