Aussie debit card system eftpos has called in US firm FIS to build a new centralised payments hub to help usher in new contactless and mobile technologies.
Bank and retailer-owned eftpos accounts for around 70% of Australia's debit card transactions - more than six million a day. The new hub, tapping FIS' global EFT switching software will replace the current bilateral networks, reducing costs and complexity, when it becomes operational next year.
The switch should also make the introduction of new payment technologies including contactless, mobile and online easier by centralising those changes in a single system. Earlier this year eftpos outlined plans for NFC-based mobile payments trials with retailers.
Bruce Mansfield, MD, eftpos, says: "This new hub has the potential to be one of the most significant developments in Australia's payments industry since eftpos cards first entered the market almost 30 years ago...It means that any system changes or product enhancements will be done once centrally, rather than requiring participants to make multiple changes."