Australia considers new regulations for Apple, Google, and WeChat digital wallets

The Australian government has announced it is considering new laws that would tighten the regulation of digital payment services by tech giants such as Apple and Alphabet’s Google.

Services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and China’s WeChat Pay are not currently designated as payment systems, putting them outside the regulatory system. The Australian report recommended the government be given the power to designate tech companies as payment providers, clarifying the regulatory status of digital wallets.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reported that payments through digital wallets had grown to 8% of in-person card transactions in 2019, up from 2% in 2016. It also recommended the government and industry together establish a strategic plan for the wider payments ecosystem and that a single, integrated licensing framework for payment systems be developed.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which has estimated digital wallet transactions more than doubled in the year to March to USD 1.6 billion, has urged regulators to address ‘competition issues’ and consider the safety implications of their use.