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INDUSTRY NEWS
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ACCC authorises payment systems merger after undertaking Each consumer debit card transaction comes at a significant cost unless you as a business can access the eftpos payment gateway which is 40% cheaper to transact. Eftpos is accessible via a least cost routing system. MGA TMA members have found this a frustrating issue to deal with as the big four banks claim ignorance when a member requests Least Cost Routing for their business. MGA TMA was concerned with a proposed merger between three payment platforms that could have risked the survival of eftpos and its current and future plans to provide a cheaper alternative for debit card payments to VISA and Mastercard. After a number of consultations and MGA TMA submissions, on 9 September 2021, the ACCC authorised the proposed merger of BPAY Group Holding Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries (together, BPAY), eftpos Payments Australia Ltd (eftpos) and NPP Australia Ltd (NPPA), after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking offered by the parties. BPAY, eftpos and NPPA each provide payment services to consumers and businesses through their respective payment systems, BPAY, eftpos and the New Payments Platform. “We do not consider that the merger of these parties will substantially lessen competition in any payments market, after taking into account the court-enforceable undertaking,” ACCC Chair, Rod Sims, said.
“The ACCC found that, at a high level, the services of the three companies do not compete closely. We considered a number of potential impacts on competition, including concerns raised by industry participants about the impact of the amalgamation on eftpos’ services and least cost routing.” “Eftpos is important to the availability of least cost routing, as the only current alternative network to the Visa and Mastercard networks through which debit transactions can be routed,” Mr Sims said. “Least cost routing allows merchants to choose the payment scheme that processes transactions when consumers use a dual network debit card. This can help to reduce the fees merchants pay for the processing of debit card payments.” “The ACCC recognises that rapid change is taking place in the sector, but ultimately it was satisfied that, with the undertaking, the amalgamation will not have a significant adverse impact on eftpos’ services or the availability of least cost routing,” Mr Sims said. “The Reserve Bank of Australia, the regulator of payment systems in Australia, will also continue to take action to safeguard the availability of least cost routing.” “Together with the commitments made in the undertaking, the oversight of the Reserve Bank will minimise the risk that eftpos is diminished or that least cost routing will become less available,” Mr Sims said. In the undertaking accepted by the ACCC, the merger parties have committed to ensure that, for a term of four years, eftpos will do everything in its control to make least cost routing available and promote it, to ensure the eftpos payments scheme, and the eftpos card-based issuing and acceptance infrastructure and services are maintained.
mga.asn.au | October 2021 | Edition 6
