17
Payments Regulation in Asia
Based on the ACCC rules, merchants interested in surcharging should ensure that surcharges are calculated to be percentage-based or per item, depending on how the underlying costs are applied, and not based on a blended cost of acceptance across networks. Notably, these federal rules do not apply to the taxi industry, which“remains the responsibility of state regulators,” where the majority of Australian states have passed regulation limiting surcharges to 5%. 25 These regulations vary from state to state with federal rules taking precedence for non- exempt industries. The RBA continues to consider how to improve the current surcharging regulatory standards and how to apply it to new emerging payment methods, specifically Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) methods, which encompassed around 14% of Australian ecommerce spend (See Australia Country Profile). After a two-year review, the bank has announced its intentions to extend the no-surcharge rule prohibition to BNPL providers like Afterpay and Zip. 26 Although strongly anticipated, BNPL regulations have been delayed until 2024 for drafting constraints. 27
25 https://www.rba.gov.au/payments-and-infrastructure/review-of-card-payments-regulation/q-and-a/card-pay- ments-regulation-qa-conclusions-paper.html#surcharging-consumers-q7 26 https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/australias-central-bank-tells-buy-now-pay-later-firms-drop-surcharge- ban-2021-10-22/ 27 https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/bnpl-laws-delayed-until-new-year-amid-legislative-drafting-con - straints-20231124-p5emmy
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