BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
Govt Says It Will Deliver Lower Card Fees To Business
F
ollowing feedback from a recent consultation period, the NZ Government says a Retail Payments Systems Bill will be introduced later this year to require reductions in interchange fees as soon as possible; to enable direct intervention by the Commerce Commission using a broad suite of powers to regulate different participants in the retail payment system; and to introduce a disclosure and reporting requirement to enable the commission to monitor the retail payments system. “One of the main components of merchant service fees is the interchange fee. We will cap those for credit card transactions at 0.8 per cent, which is in line with Australia,” Clark said. “We are also capping the interchange fees charged for online debit card transactions at 0.6 per cent. Contactless debit card interchange fees will stay at their current levels of 0.2 per cent or less, and for swiped and inserted debit, it will stay at 0 per cent.” Clark said smaller retailers and those who relied on credit or online sales would particularly benefit from the savings. The
Government says it aims to seek final policy decisions on reducing merchant fees in mid2021, with a view to the full regulatory regime coming into effect next year. “This is a very welcome decision for the hospitality industry,” said Restaurant Association CEO Marisa Bidois. “Regulation on merchant fees is something we have lobbied hard for so we are happy to see that the government is listening. “Merchant card fees have been on the increase since contactless payments have come into more general use. These fees have been costing our businesses thousands each year.” In a survey of Restaurant Association members conducted earlier this year, 69 per cent of respondents said they would like to see government regulation to reduce merchant service fees “Just under 90 percent of our members believe that the current merchant fee system needs to change. We still experience higher prices in New Zealand than in Australia and the United Kingdom and pay nearly twice as much as Australian retailers pay in merchant fees. On average,
we understand it is estimated to be $13,000 per year more than Australian counterparts. “With contactless payment increases over the past year, these fees have become incredibly difficult for our businesses to manage. “Bringing transparency to merchant fees will serve hospitality businesses far better over the long term than allowing a hands-off.” concluded Bidois. n
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