Jason Bryce, Freelance Journalist

The standard price of a coffee (often used as an example by the prime minister) is up by 50 cents, no matter how you pay. “just like electricity and wages … the cost of taking cards and cash will be built into the price,” said RBA governor Michelle Bullock on Tuesday.  But the way a consumer pays is NOT like other

Those annoying little surcharges for paying with a card or phone will be banned from the 1st of October 2026. That means retailers will have to raise their general prices or absorb the extra cost. Now the Reserve Bank of Australia is telling Aussie businesses they can legally replace card surcharging with cash discounts: “Businesses that wish to steer consumers

New research from Harvard University finds that: “Cards charge interchange fees to merchants to fund consumer rewards. “When merchants raise prices for all consumers in response to these costs, users of low-cost payment methods (e.g., cash and debit) cross subsidize high-reward credit card users who shop at the same merchant.” The research quantifies this regressive cross-subsidisation (in the USA). “Because credit card

A version of this story appeared in PayDayNews Australia’s big banks have developed a twenty-year plan for distributing cash throughout Australia, based on out-of-date data. The bank’s proposed Joint Venture Co. will manage the industry as cash largely disappears, according to the expert report by Warwick Davis of Frontier Economics. The Frontier report, commissioned by the banks, says: “ … the dynamics

This story appeared in PayDayNews Reserve Bank of Australia data shows no trend away from using cash, despite banks withdrawing branches, ATMs and support for cash access. May’s retail payments numbers suggest consumers are seeking out ATMs when bank branches become unavailable. ATMs are the dominant way Australians access cash, with the vast majority now charging fees. The total value of

Australia’s financial regulators are rebuilding the cash-in-transit industry based on a 20-year plan that forecasts cash is dying. The government is setting a budget in case Armaguard, the dominant cash-in-transit operator, suddenly fails. Araguard Executive Chairman Peter Fox said the plan was an “absolutely outrageous affront” and “absolutely ludicrous.” Mr Fox told a heated Senate committee hearing the new powers to set prices and monitor the

Licensed Post Offices are often the last outpost of the cash distribution system. When banks close their branches and ATMs, the post office remains, often as an agency in another retail outlet providing Bank@Post services. Australia Post LPOs provide these critical cash services in bankless towns without the resources of a bank and sometimes it can all go wrong. The recent burglary

Australia’s big four banks collectively hold $1.67 trillion of retail deposits from households. This money is used to fund their lending portfolios, mostly their mortgage books. Banks pay zero or almost zero interest on about 20 per cent of this total, or $320 billion, says the ACCC. This ‘free money’ has helped banks reduce their funding costs and increase their

The Reserve Bank of Australia reported (9th February 2026) the total value of cash withdrawals made in Australia rose by $386 million in December 2025 from the previous month. The total value of cash withdrawals in December was up $94.7 million compared with the previous December 2024. Perhaps surprisingly to some, bank branches experienced a sharp influx of foot traffic in December as 200,00-