New Payments Platform Australia Merges With Eftpos, BPAY

New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA), which oversees all transactions through Australia’s updated payment system, has announced that it will merge with Eftpos and BPAY, according to a report from ZDNet.

The new combined company will help to make a more unified entity that will help cut costs, boost efficiency and be better positioned to compete with overseas multinational payments programs, the report stated. The new company will have a single board with members of all three companies.

The Reserve Bank of Australia prompted the merger after a review, noting that the consolidation of some local payment groups should be considered, the report stated.

“In Australia, international card schemes and multinational technology providers are dominating the payments sector,” the companies said in a statement. “Change is needed to ensure that the Australian payments system supports the best interests of consumers and businesses, through increased choice and competition.”

In February, Australia’s central bank was considering the necessity of stopping banks from automatically re-routing “tap and go” card payments through large companies like Visa and Mastercard when they could be using Eftpos due to its status as a local payment provider and its cheaper overall rates, PYMNTS reported.

The central bank said using Visa and Mastercard could end up costing double what Eftpos does. And Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Philip Lowe said he thought the localized nature of Eftpos, owned by Australian financial institutions, was more beneficial for the country.

The ZDNet report noted there are other mergers happening, such as ANZ Bank entering into a joint venture with Worldline, a European payments player. That merger will give a boost to small businesses, commercial and institutional customers looking for quick, secure and reliable point-of-sale (POS) payments.

Mark Hand, group executive of Australia retail and commercial banking at ANZ, said the partnership “responds to the fast-changing way that consumers want to pay for goods and services, particularly in a post-COVID environment,” according to the report.