The Retail Payment System Bill passed its third reading in the House on 11 May 2022 and received Royal assent on 13 May 2022 to become law.
The Retail Payment System Act 2022 (Act) introduces a range of measures which the Government says will promote competition and economic efficiency in the retail payment system.
The Act sets out the following:
- a process and factors to determine what parts of the retail payment system should be designated for regulation;
- that the Commerce Commission can issue standards for information disclosure, pricing or access;
- that the Commerce Commission can make directions regarding the rules of designated networks;
- the possibility of regulating merchants’ payment surcharges in order to prevent excessive surcharging;
- enforcement and functional powers of the Commerce Commission;
- initial designations of the Mastercard and Visa credit and debit networks;
- an initial pricing standard that requires fee reductions for transactions on the Mastercard and Visa credit and debit networks.
All of these provisions came into force immediately, except for the initial pricing standard which is delayed by six months to allow for the VISA and Mastercard networks to implement fee changes.
For further information please contact a member of our competition & antitrust team.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose.
