Weekly Update: 26 September

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Key News:

• ABA CEO Simon Birmingham spoke with Sally Sara on ABC RN Breakfast about interchange fees.
• ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke welcomed progress made by lenders in improving customer experience and outcomes in hardship support, as outlined in its recently released Report 815 Hardship, not so hard to get help. ASIC is urging lenders to maintain a strong customer focus to ensure better outcomes for those in financial distress.

“I look forward to working with key stakeholders at this conference in order to make sure that we can move forward with the CDR and that we can maximise the benefits for consumers and reduce the costs for industry.”

–  Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Daniel Mulino. Speech to the Global Digital Asset Regulatory Summit, 25 September 2025.

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Media & Communication Update:

• Provided a statement to the AFR Magazine on the topic of cash, saying: ‘Major banks and major retailers have provided financial support to Armaguard to maintain current operations and allow for the development of a regulated pricing model. This model will help support the longer-term sustainability of Cash-in-Transit services even as cash use continues to decline.”
• Phase 1 of the Confirmation of Payee campaign completed with planning for the rollout of phase 2 underway. Below are some interim results:
  • Digital ad impressions: 114 million; Completed video views (BVOD + Youtube): 7.2 million; Reached across rail + transit Out of Home: 21.4 million; Reached across SCA metro radio: 4.7 million.

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Political Update:

• On Monday, RBA Governor Michele Bullock appeared before the House Economics Committee.
  • Her opening statement covered monetary policy (falling inflation, low unemployment), payments (surcharging review, widened powers under the PSRA) and increasing strain on the cash distribution system.
  • The RBA’s surcharging plans received some attention:
    • “Let me make this point: the payment system as a whole has a certain amount of costs associated with it, and someone has to pay. It will ultimately be the consumer.”- Michele Bullock
• Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino gave a speech to the Global Digital Asset Regulatory Summit addressing the digital asset roadmap, productivity, AI and CDR.
  • He unveiled a draft of Labor’s digital asset regulation that will require crypto exchanges to obtain Australian financial services licences.

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Policy Update:

• ABA met with the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange to discuss data sharing architecture for Scam Prevention Framework.
• ABA and members attended a meeting hosted by the ATO where they provided a GST Strategy update for FY26.

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Economic Update

• The ABS reported that the monthly CPI rose 3.0% over the last 12 months to August 2025, up from 2.8% in July.
  • Key contributors were housing (+4.5%), led by electricity (+24.6%) as state rebates expired, and rents (+3.7%).
  • Food and non‑alcoholic beverages rose 3.0%, while alcohol and tobacco increased 6.0%.
• Trimmed mean inflation eased slightly to 2.6%, while CPI excluding volatile items rose 3.4%.
• Fuel prices fell 1.7% annually, and insurance growth slowed to 2.6%, the lowest in four years.

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Regulatory Update

• The RBA’s Payments System Board released their annual report for 2025. Over 2024/25, the Payments System Board advanced the RBA’s payments policy strategy, strengthening governance through updated codes and enhanced transparency.
  • The RBA focused on competition and efficiency in card payments, oversight of account‑to‑account system modernisation, and research into central bank digital currencies, while continuing to address access to cash and the resilience of electronic payments.
  • It also published key assessments of clearing and settlement facilities, including ASX systems, and launched consultations on crisis resolution powers to support financial stability.
• ASIC has urged Australia’s $200 billion private credit sector to lift standards, highlighting both good and poor practices in its latest review. The regulator stressed that stronger governance, transparency, and alignment with global best practice are essential to build confidence, protect investors, and support the sector’s rapid growth.

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Coming up next week:

• Politics:
  • 7-10/10: Supplementary Senate Budget Estimates
• Data:
  • 30/09: Building Approvals, Australia (ABS)
  • 30/09: Financial Aggregates (RBA)
  • 01/10: Index of Commodity Prices (RBA)
  • 02/10: Monthly Household Spending Indicator (ABS)
  • 02/10: International Trade in Goods (ABS)

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Upcoming Submissions:

Published submissions

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Events

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Selected Media

• SMH – Visa warns Reserve Bank fee cut plan will backfire on shoppers
• AFR – Red-hot inflation signals the RBA may be done cutting rates
• SMH – Warning to DIY super funds over booming $200 billion sector
• ABC – Productivity Commission to review state and territory GST deal, including $60b WA windfall

Warm regards,
The ABA Team

RBAWeekly Update