August 12, 2009
Flycke prepares to take on BPAY
A new payments start-up using the billing system of the Centricom-owned POLi is preparing to take on BPAY.
Flycke general manager Anthony Johnston told Online Banking Review the group will launch “in the next couple of weeks” and is currently in talks will small and large billers from the Government and private sector.
“The top end like that we are substantially cheaper and the bottom end like the fact that we don’t care about volumes and there are no contracts to sign.”
The move comes as the Reserve Bank continues to put pressure on the Australian payments industry to provide alternatives that can successfully compete with the major card schemes.
The industry has begun the development of an Eftpos scheme in response to this pressure, however at its May meeting the RBA Payment Systems Board said much remained to be achieved before the Board could be comfortable that the system is a viable and competitive alternative to the international schemes.
The Payment System Board is due to meet again to discuss interchange regulation on August 21.
In the interim the Australian Payments Clearing Association has issued a discussion paper arguing the Australian consumer online payments marketplace is already competitive.
Johnston says the Australian market is wide open for the introduction of payments and billing alternatives.
Last month the drive for new payment schemes currently underway in Europe migrated to Australia with Dominique Buysschaert, head of start-up scheme PayFair, visiting Australia to talk to retailers and banks. “The European situation gave us the opportunity to start something, but as a payments scheme we have a global ambition” says Buysschaert.
Although PayFair is primarily a debit driven scheme, PayFair also has ambition in the area of online payments. We’ve got more on this in the Aug/Sep edition of Online Banking Review, out Friday.
Written by: Charis
Filed Under: Innovation, Payments, The Better Banking Blog
Tags: Centricom, economic policy, Flycke, online payments, PayFair, payment schemes, payments competition, RBA payments system board
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Steven
August 14, 2009 at 9:40 am
It is fascinating that APCA, like the banks are going to be taken kicking a screaming to the “competition table”. It is inevitable that while EFTPOS and BPay were market leaders 20 and 10 years ago respectively the market has moved onto to such an extent arguing the systems while noting their ownership (the entrenched combatants) suggesting the market is competitive is almost ludicrous.
Strangely they are going to be forced by the likes of Air NZ (who already takes POLi, but admittedly a small player) and potential other large payment receivers who might find these options cheaper.
Ultimately the transaction can only be viewed as a means to an end, and as such, a commodity. Entrenching themselves and holding onto an incumbent commodity business might give the impression to outsiders of holding onto a Sol Trijillo like position.
I’m wondering whether @mambo is going to get another run shortly.