CREDIT CARDS – AUSTRALIA

Credit card debt to take 138 years to pay

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 23-Mar-18

Commonwealth Bank executive Clive van Horen has conceded that the bank erred in the case of problem gambler David Harris. Harris has told a public hearing of the banking royal commission how the bank had continued to give him credit cards and had extended his credit limit even though he had admitted to being a problem gambler. Van Horen told the commission that the bank has since tightened its rules in relation to giving credit to customers who appear to have gambling problems.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Credit mischief costs banks $50m

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 15-Feb-18

The financial services royal commission will initially focus on banks’ responsible lending practices in relation to credit cards, home loans and car finance packages. Meanwhile, new figures show that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission has ordered banks to pay $A50m in refunds and compensation to credit card customers over the last two years. Westpac, ANZ and Citi are among the banks that have been forced to reimburse customers during this period.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIBANK PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

King cash dethroned as cards lead a revolution at the till

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 23 : 15-Sep-17

The ­Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest triennial customer payments survey highlights the continuing decline in the use of cash as a payment option, in favour of debit and credit cards. The proportion of consumer transactions that were carried out with cash has fallen from 70 per cent in 2007 to just 37 per cent in fiscal 2016. However, cash remains the most popular payment option for transactions costing less than $A10, while cash is still widely used by older people. There was also a 20 per cent decline in payments via cheque in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Visa moves to kill PINs with biometrics

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 29-Aug-17

Visa hopes it will not be too long before its card users will be able to do away with using PIN number or 16-digit card numbers to conduct transactions. Visa is looking to work with Australian banks to adopt biometric authentication protocols that will allow card users to make transactions by using their fingerprint, with the process aimed at both reducing fraud and cutting down transaction times. Visa’s Joe Cunningham would also like to see greater data sharing between banks and merchants.

CORPORATES
VISA INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN PAYMENTS CLEARING ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Woolies customers fume after being charged twice

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 8-Aug-17

Payments processor Cuscal has accepted responsibility for an error which saw customers of Woolworths billed twice for the same purchase. The problem affected purchases made at various Woolworths units, including BWS, Big W and its petrol stations. Affected customers had paid for transactions as long ago as March 2017 with their Visa cards, and were billed for the same transactions again in early August. Many irate customers were quick to vent their anger at Woolworths.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, CUSCAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BWS – BEER WINE SPIRITS, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES

High incomes run up relatively less debt on major cards

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Dec-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Australians aged 18+ who hold major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and Amex) intended to carry forward to their next statement a combined average monthly debt of $A19bn in the year to October 2016. The survey also shows that people on annual incomes of under $A25,000 carry forward $A1,100 on average (8.9 per cent of their income). For the highest income group of $A250,000+, the average debt was $A2,500, or 0.9 per cent of their average income. The largest cardholder segment, with just over a third of the market (33.7 per cent), is the $A25,000 to $A59,000 group. Their average debt is $A1,400, or about 3.5 per cent of their average income.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

Apple Pay: a $1 billion per month potential turnover

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Dec-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 52 per cent of Australians aged 14+ who have a non-bank issued American Express credit card also own an iPhone. The survey, which was carried out in the year to September 2015, also shows that more than 80,000 AMEX card-holders own an iPhone 6. This is the only iPhone model that is capable of accessing Apple Pay, which will be launched in Australia exclusively for AMEX-issued credit card holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY, APPLE INCORPORATED, APPLE PAY, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VISA INTERACTIVE, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Airlines reject credit card surcharge gouge claims

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Nov-15

Qantas and its Jetstar subsidiary impose a surcharge of between $A7 and $A30 on flights booked via a credit or debit card. However, Qantas’s Andrew Parker estimates that the carrier recovered only about 81 per cent of the full cost of such transactions in 2014-15. Virgin Australia has indicated that its surcharges also do not allow it recover the full cost of credit/debit card transactions. Queensland businessman Klaus Bartosch has rejected the airlines’ claims and has argued that the surcharges are too high.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

NAB does 10-year deal with Visa

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Nov-15

National Australia Bank has terminated its alliance with MasterCard in favour of rival credit card provider Visa. The two groups will co-operate in the development of new payment solutions as the trend toward the use of mobile devices for making payments gathers pace. Australian banks are also holding talks with Google regarding the introduction of its Android Pay system.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, SAMSUNG CORPORATION, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

Landmark case could cost Visa $20m in fines

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 2-Sep-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has reached a confidential settlement with Visa. The company was accused of abusing its market power. The settlement will be considered for approval by Federal Court judge Michael Wigney on 3 September 2015. Penalties of up to $A20 million are believed to be sought by the ACCC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, VISA INTERNATIONAL, FEXCO INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PURE COMMERCE PTY LTD, GLOBAL BLUE HOLDINGS AB, PLANET PAYMENTS, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL