Benchmark Analytics provides independent analysis of the politics, regulation and economics of Australian payments.
Coverage focuses on the issues affecting financial institutions, payments providers, government and regulatory affairs teams, policymakers and other professionals operating in a rapidly changing and heavily regulated payments system — including cash, cards, digital payments, payment infrastructure, competition, access and regulatory reform.
Analysis draws extensively on official and primary sources including the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Payments Network, the ACCC, ASIC, APRA, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and industry disclosures.
What Benchmark Analytics covers
- Payments regulation and public policy — regulation of payment systems, government reform, competition policy, consumer issues and regulatory developments affecting payments providers.
- Cash and access to payments — cash usage, cash distribution, ATM and branch access, merchant acceptance and policy responses to declining cash use.
- Cards and transaction payments — debit and credit cards, interchange, merchant service fees, surcharging and changes in consumer payment behaviour.
- Digital payments and infrastructure — real-time payments, account-to-account payments, mobile payments, payment-system infrastructure and emerging technologies.
- Competition and industry structure — banks, payment networks, fintechs, payment processors and the changing competitive structure of Australian payments.
- Politics and communications — the evidence behind major payments debates and the implications for government, regulators, industry and public discussion.
Payments analysis built on primary data
Australia's payments system generates a substantial body of official and industry data. The Reserve Bank publishes detailed information on payment methods, cards, cash and payment-system costs, while the ACCC, ASIC, APRA and Australian Payments Network provide complementary information on competition, regulation, infrastructure and industry developments. Benchmark Analytics uses these sources to test claims, identify structural changes and assess the policy significance of new developments.