Apart from cash for small purchases, by far the most common retail payment method is a debit or credit card. Australian financial institutions issue proprietary PIN-based (or ATM) debit cards, and Visa or MasterCard scheme cards. Scheme cards can be either credit (payment is made out of a credit account with the financial institution) or debit (payment is made out of a transaction account). Often, these scheme cards have PIN-based debit functionality on the same card. There are also charge cards such as American Express and Diners Club. Cards are used for in-store purchases (where the store has an EFTPOS terminal), to withdraw cash from an ATM, or for purchases over the phone or on the internet. There are more than 43 million plastic (debit and credit) payment cards on issue or about 2.5 cards for every Australian over 18 years of age.

EFTPOS

Transactions made on debit cards are customer withdrawals from accounts and as such, funds are taken out of the account immediately. Credit card transactions are credit advances and are repaid at the cardholder’s convenience according to the agreed terms.

The Consumer Electronic Clearing System (CECS) governs the exchange of proprietary debit ATM and EFTPOS transactions. It provides policies and procedures to maintain the efficiency and integrity of the ATM and EFTPOS systems. This ensures security and reliability at more than 25,000 ATMs and 650,000 EFTPOS terminals used by millions of Australians every day.


ATM