Consultation on Card System Access Regimes May 2013

In May 2013, the Reserve Bank initiated a public consultation on the access regimes applying to the MasterCard credit and the Visa credit and Visa debit systems. These access regimes were originally designed to expand access for issuer and acquirer participants in the card schemes in Australia, and stemmed from the concern that the schemes’ restrictions on entry had not struck the right balance between competition in the payments system and the financial safety of the schemes. However, recent developments had suggested that the access regimes in their current form might no longer be fulfilling their original objective, and might now be preventing some prospective scheme participants from entry. Accordingly, the Board sought views of interested parties on the scope for modification or revocation of the regimes by 8 July 2013.