Australia to amend laws to regulate digital payment services such as Apple's Apple Pay

CTOnews.com, November 27 (Xinhua) the Australian government said on Monday that it would submit legislation to Parliament this week to regulate digital payment services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay in the same scope as credit cards and other payment methods.

Digital wallets from companies such as Apple, Google and Tencent have become popular around the world in recent years, but are not currently subject to Australian payment laws.

The CTOnews.com noted that the legislation, first proposed last month, would expand the scope of legislation authorizing the Reserve Bank of Australia to regulate payments to apply to emerging technologies. Australian Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said in a statement: "We are modernizing Australia's payment system to ensure that it meets the needs of our current and future economy. We want to ensure that the increasing popularity of digital payments will help promote competition, innovation and productivity throughout the economy."

The legislation will be introduced on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Chalmers' office.

Regulators are coping with the rapid growth of digital wallets, especially among young people. Transactions from digital wallets accounted for 35 per cent of all bank card transactions in the second quarter of this year, up from 10 per cent at the beginning of 2020. 2/3 of Australians aged 18 to 29 use mobile payments. Before the outbreak, the proportion was less than 20%.

The amendment will also empower the relevant ministers to exercise special supervision over the system or platform when there is a "nationally significant" risk.