From reading the articles today, I think the headlines have it wrong. The government is not proposing to ban fees for debit transactions, just merchants passing on the charge as a surcharge. It sounds to me like the government, and the RBA, want merchants to have the transaction fees baked in to their pricing.
The goal is price certainty and transparency for consumers. As the Prime Minister stated:
"When people see a price on the board at the business where they’re making a purchase, that should be the purchase price.....There shouldn’t be hidden charges and surcharges there."
This sentiment has been echoed by the Australian Banking Association. So the fees will stand (though they may be capped), but the fees won't be passed on as a surcharge. They will be baked into the retailers' prices instead.
So the price you see is the price you pay. I like this. They should extend it to credit cards as well. I'm sick of merchants price gouging on credit card surcharges.
TYR Price at posting:
80.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
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