Treasurer Josh Frydenberg mentioned he would “fastidiously contemplate” that and different suggestions from a government-commissioned report into whether or not the funds system had saved tempo with advances in expertise and adjustments in client demand.
Companies corresponding to Apple Pay, Google Pay and China’s WeChat Pay, which have grown quickly lately, are usually not at present designated as funds programs, placing them exterior the regulatory system.
“In the end, if we do nothing to reform the present framework, will probably be Silicon Valley alone that determines the way forward for our digital funds system, a essential piece of our financial infrastructure,” Frydenberg mentioned in an opinion piece revealed within the Australian Monetary Evaluation newspaper.
The Financial institution for Worldwide Settlements (BIS) earlier this month referred to as for international monetary watchdogs
to urgently get to grips with the rising affect of ‘Massive Tech’, and the large quantities of information managed by teams corresponding to Google, Fb, Amazon and Alibaba.
The Australian report beneficial the federal government be given the ability to designate tech corporations as funds suppliers, clarifying the regulatory standing of digital wallets.
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It additionally beneficial the federal government and trade collectively set up a strategic plan for the broader funds ecosystem and {that a} single, built-in licensing framework for cost programs be developed.
The Reserve Financial institution of Australia (RBA), which is at present in control of designating who’s a cost companies supplier, reported that funds via digital wallets had grown to eight% of in-person card transactions in 2019, up from 2% in 2016.
The Commonwealth Financial institution of Australia, which has estimated digital pockets transactions greater than doubled within the 12 months to March to A$2.1 billion, has urged regulators to deal with “competitors points” and contemplate the security implications of their use.
