The Australian government On Monday announced that it will unify the regulations governing Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other digital payment services.
Despite their explosive growth in popularity, digital wallets from companies like Apple, Google, and Tencent, the developer of WeChat, are not covered by Australian payments law.
The proposal, which was initially mentioned last month, will extend the reach of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s regulatory authority over payments to include new and developing technologies.
“We are modernising Australia’s payments system to ensure it meets the needs of our economy now and into the future,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement.
“We want to make sure the increasing use of digital payments occurs in a way that helps promote greater competition, innovation and productivity across our entire economy.”
According to Chalmers’ office, legislation is scheduled to be introduced on Wednesday or Thursday.
The quick rise in popularity of digital wallets, particularly among youth, has regulators taking notice. Digital wallet transactions increased from 10% of all card transactions in early 2020 to 35% in the June quarter.
