OUR $1B CREDIT CARD RIP OFF
Everyday purchases are collectively costing Australians $1bn a year more than they should, due to sky-high card fees charged by banks and payment terminal companies, experts say.
The widespread transaction fee ripoffs have led Reserve Bank governor Michelle Bullock to warn the payments industry that regulation is on the way to force it to cut processing costs and pass on savings.
Brad Kelly, managing director of consulting company Payment Services, said companies like Square, run by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, were enjoying mark-ups of up to 700 per cent on fees charged for payments made by eftpos.
Banks were also enjoying hefty profits due to the gap between the wholesale amount charged for eftpos transactions, which Mr Kelly said made up about 75 per cent of card purchases, and the fees they charge merchants.
“Merchant acquirers – banks – are gouging merchants who are then passing costs on to consumers,” Mr Kelly said.
He said big merchants such as department store chains could get a discount but small to medium size companies lacked power to negotiate.
RBA data shows the average cost of processing an eftpos transaction is 0.28 per cent of the purchase price – or, for a $100 purchase, 28 cents. However, Square charges a flat rate of 1.6 per cent of purchase price, or $1.60 on a $100 buy. Mr Kelly said merchant acquirers such as banks, Square and Tyro were using cheap eftpos traffic to cross subsidise more expensive credit and charge card transactions.
Visa and MasterCard transactions cost an average of 0.84 per cent while American Express costs 1.38 per cent and Diners Card a whopping 2.11 per cent, RBA data shows.
A Square spokesperson said its single rate kept things simple for merchants and allowed it to offer a range of other services to them for no extra cost.
RBA data compiled by Qi Insights shows that Australians make about $556bn worth of purchases a year using debit cards, and $377m a year using credit cards. Just $104bn is withdrawn from ATMS in cash.
To reduce processing costs, Ms Bullock wants industry to adopt what’s called “least cost routing”, or LCR, where transactions are automatically allocated to the cheapest processing method possible. Mr Kelly said LCR was currently used by 54 per cent of merchants.
Ms Bullock “wants that at 80 per cent or above – she’s going to mandate that,” he said.
“If LCR was being implemented properly across the network the savings to merchants would be more than $1bn a year.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken court action against MasterCard accusing it of deliberately pumping up costs by getting big retailers to use its network instead of using LCR.
i thought most of the merchant fees were attached by the intermediary providers like Tyro, Square and other hustlers. Some optionsl, some mandated.Have noticed a few signs appearing in shop fronts re cashless society.
This one was in our local bakery.
Happy to accomodate them this morning.
i thought most of the merchant fees were attached by the intermediary providers like Tyro, Square and other hustlers. Some optionsl, some mandated.
But hey, love a good Big Bank Bash.
sounds effective ( not ! )Mr Kelly said LCR was currently used by 54 per cent of merchants.
I'm not too sure about lower transaction costs on credit cards. Ours which is used only for business usualy gets hit with somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent of the value purchased, when it only would cost the bank/merchant a few cents to transact.sounds effective ( not ! )
if the majority are already using the system Ms. Bullock is lining up for another hit to the reputation
Merchant fees vary, but the basically the system costs of processing your transactions are Covered by merchant fees include.I'm not too sure about lower transaction costs on credit cards. Ours which is used only for business usualy gets hit with somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent of the value purchased, when it only would cost the bank/merchant a few cents to transact.
25/01/24 1:00pm AEDT: We’re continuing to work through the technical issue with our support teams. We know you rely on us to be able to access your money when you need it, and we’re sorry to have let you down. We’re hoping to be back online soon.
25/01/24 11:00am AEDT: We’re continuing to work through the technical issue and have specialist support on the case. We’re hoping to be back online soon.
25/01/24 7:00am AEDT: We’ve been working overnight to fix the technical issue but it’s taking a little longer than expected, and the ME Bank app & ME Internet Banking are still offline. Thank you for your patience, we’re so sorry for the inconvenience.
24/01/24 7:15pm AEDT: We’re experiencing a technical issue, and the ME Bank app & ME Internet Banking are currently offline. We’re working hard to get back online as soon as possible. Your card will work as usual for payments, and your account is safe and secure. Check back for updates.
While this issue is ongoing:
We’re so sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll continue to keep you updated.
- You won’t be able to log into Internet Banking or the ME Mobile App.
- You can continue to use your cards for payments, but limits may apply.
- Any scheduled payments and transfers will be delayed.
- Account balances may take a few hours longer to update than usual, including when transferring funds to your transaction account.
Doesn't cut it at all.@JohnDe is it Me Bank?
From the Me Bank website:
Eventually, I received a SMS about an hour ago about the ongoing "technical issue".
Being sorry for the inconvenience and for letting the customer down isn't much help now is it?
@JohnDe is it Me Bank?
From the Me Bank website:
Eventually, I received a SMS about an hour ago about the ongoing "technical issue".
Being sorry for the inconvenience and for letting the customer down isn't much help now is it?
Mr frog 'tis well known those that travel outside of the law have and deal in cash.In the meantime
Most cash is being hoarded, and lots used for crime, says RBA
As the RBA and lenders respond to crisis in cash distribution, new analysis shows up to 80pc of cash is being hoarded, while up to 11pc is in criminal hands.www.afr.com
does crime translate to any financial activity not done by government ??In the meantime
Most cash is being hoarded, and lots used for crime, says RBA
As the RBA and lenders respond to crisis in cash distribution, new analysis shows up to 80pc of cash is being hoarded, while up to 11pc is in criminal hands.www.afr.com
well you can't count on the banks to keep it safe ( or to keep it hidden from the government prying eyes )Mr frog 'tis well known those that travel outside of the law have and deal in cash.
The odd few I have dealth with over the years always have a suitcase of the stuff.
Just been talking to a cousin in the north-east wheatbelt, a Neighbour of his wanted to with draw cash from the local bank. Was told go to the Post Office. Apparrently this is the norm. Or the alternative is a round trip of about 150k to Moora.well you can't count on the banks to keep it safe ( or to keep it hidden from the government prying eyes )
besides now they have 'currency sniffer ' dogs at transit terminals it is slightly more difficult to transact internationally
i don't know if your Post Office is a franchise ( or not ) ( the nearest one is here )Just been talking to a cousin in the north-east wheatbelt, a Neighbour of his wanted to with draw cash from the local bank. Was told go to the Post Office. Apparrently this is the norm. Or the alternative is a round trip of about 150k to Moora.
I see a lot of businesses that have a sign that says " No Cash Kept on Premises".i don't know if your Post Office is a franchise ( or not ) ( the nearest one is here )
but that smells like a soft default to me ( after all a 'bank' is supposed to have 'secure storage' .. and insurance against overt theft ) while a Post Office is basically protected by federal law
sounds like that bank branch is not a real bank much like a shop counter much like the average Telstra shop
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