Visa Offers Debit Fee Reductions in Australia

Visa said it had told the RBA it would reduce the bank interchange fees on its debit cards from 0.5 per cent - the level of credit cards - to 0.32 per cent. A lower rate would apply to electronic transactions. The fees are charged by the banks to process transactions - depending on whether they act for the card holder or the merchant - and are paid by merchants.

Visa is battling moves by the RBA to ban a rule that requires merchants that accept Visa credit cards to also accept debit cards issued by the country's biggest consumer finance brand.