The new research shows an 8% rise since the previous survey three years ago
Australians back small businesses on debit card fees: survey. Source: pexels.com
New eftpos research revealed Australian consumers are in favour of small businesses being given the ability to choose the cheapest option to process debit card payments through Least Cost Routing (LCR).
According to information, the cost of debit card fees is now critical to small businesses because they have replaced cash as by far the most common way to pay in Australia, representing nearly 9 billion and almost 70% of total electronic retail transactions annually.
It also suggests that consumers are increasingly understanding the potential economic benefits to be gained from LCR, with 45% of consumers indicating they thought that merchants were likely to pass on any fee savings to their customers, up 12 points since the last survey.
Publicly supported by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg as a key competitive mechanism to help level the playing field between small businesses and their larger peers with more market power, LCR lets merchants decide what payment ‘rails’ debit card transactions run down based on the lowest cost.
Mr Benton said the research also showed, that when asked about which payments network Australians would prefer to process their online or tap debit card transactions, 66% of consumers have no preference in network or would prefer to use the low-cost Australian eftpos network, rather than international schemes.
Of those that nominated a network preference, eftpos was the preference for 28% with Visa and Mastercard being preferred by 20% and 15% respectively.
Besides, 91% of cardholders believe merchants processing via the eftpos network would not have a negative impact on their payment experience online or in-store.
The research findings echo ongoing public support expressed via an?online petition?on Least Cost Routing, which has now been signed by over 15,000 people.
We’ve reported that HSBC to launch Banking as a Service.
SEE ALSO:
Pay Space
Our editorial team delivers daily news and insights on the global payment industry, covering fintech innovations, worldwide payment methods, and modern payment options.
