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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Warnings RBA's move to end card surcharges could hike banking costs or lower rewards points
The Reserve Bank's proposal to end card surcharges aims to save consumers money, but experts warn it could have unintended consequences. RMIT finance professor Angel Zhong told ABC News that, in practice, it could increase banking costs and leave Australians footing the bill. The RBA has said scrapping credit and debit card surcharges would save every adult using a card around $60 a year. The proposed changes include a cap on interchange fees, which means banks will miss out on about $900 million in revenue each year, according to Professor Zhong. "Banks will experience a deduction in their banking revenue, so they need to recoup it somewhere," she said. Surcharges are already banned in Europe and the United Kingdom. Professor Zhong said research into the international experience demonstrated a potential for increased costs to be passed on: A surcharge ban could lead to higher payment costs for small businesses, said Matthew Addison, chair of the small business peak body COSBOA. "Each other time [the payment providers] have lowered one fee, another fee has increased or the service package that is provided to the merchant changes," he said. "While one fee comes down, maybe the cost of the terminal will go up." If payments can no longer be passed on to customers, he said, small businesses might have to increase prices. "At the moment, small business is not in a position to absorb any more costs," he said. While the RBA's review found a lower cap on interchange fees would save business $1.2 billion a year and leave 90 per cent better off, industry groups and merchants have continued to express concern. "Big businesses aren't surcharging because their cost structure of merchant fees is less than a quarter of what small businesses are paying," Mr Addison said. ABC News asked ANZ, Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank and NAB how they planned to recoup costs if the proposals went ahead. The banks said they were unable to comment while they worked on submissions for the central bank by a late August deadline. Melanie Evans, deputy chair of the Australian Banking Association and chief executive of ING in Australia, told The Business that delivering more bang for buck to Australians was important. "But if the economics of our payment systems change then, of course, business models will also change accordingly," she said The banks want mobile wallets, such as Apple and Google Pay included in the review. "We would suggest that there's also opportunity to look more broadly at digital wallets and other forms of payments in the system," said Ms Evans. More Australians are using mobile wallets to tap and go, with payments up almost 30 per cent in the past year. Each time a customer pays using a mobile wallet, the banks pay the tech giants a fee. Professor Zhong said that was where banks could offset lost revenue from the cap on interchange fees. "It would require reforms in other areas in terms of fees charged by mobile wallets to Australian banks," she said. Stakeholders have until August 26 to make submissions regarding the RBA's proposals.
The Australian
21 hours ago
- The Australian
US sells $1.5bn in arms to Europe for Ukraine, sealing shift in weapons pipeline
Trump has stopped sending US weapons to Kyiv, but is willing to let allies buy them for transfer to Ukraine. In one of the clearest demonstrations to date of how the West's approach to arming Ukraine against Russia is shifting under President Trump, four European countries are buying US military equipment valued at roughly $US1 billion ($1.5bn) for delivery to Kyiv's forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy, after a phone call with Trump about the war, said on X that he had discussed the European purchases and 'our bilateral defence co-operation with America.' The European purchases, in two separate transactions co-ordinated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, are expected to be the first of many funded by European governments and Canada following an agreement in principle earlier this summer. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Ð'олодимир ЗеленÑьаий (@ZelenskyyUa) August 5, 2025 Trump has baulked at providing US weapons directly to Ukraine, as the Biden administration did, but he has signalled openness to selling the embattled country American arms. Trump and his senior officials have also said that Europe should shoulder more of the burden of supporting Ukraine because it is closer to them, and the US is focused on China and the Pacific. The Netherlands on Monday agreed to the first $500 million purchase, and a consortium of Denmark, Sweden and Norway on Tuesday agreed to a similar purchase. The deals were co-ordinated by NATO following an agreement at the White House on July 14 between Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and earlier discussions among leaders at the alliance's annual summit in June. The packages include ammunition, critical equipment and air-defence equipment, including Patriot interceptor missiles. 'This is about getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression,' said Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister. 'Thank you! This co-operation with NATO countries will continue,' Zelensky said on X about the deals. NATO and Ukraine have established a shopping list of Kyiv's requirements for lethal and nonlethal equipment, dubbed the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List. NATO, Ukraine and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, will ensure the packages meet Kyiv's needs. NATO is dividing the list into packages valued at roughly $500 million apiece. Governments are making financial commitments toward the packages and NATO, which has pledged 'rapid delivery from US stockpiles,' will co-ordinate delivery of the arms to Ukraine. Rutte said he had 'written to all NATO Allies, urging them to contribute toward this burden-sharing initiative, and I expect further significant announcements from other Allies soon.' Deliveries of American weapons to Kyiv that were authorised by the Biden administration are still flowing across the border from Poland. Some of those weapons — primarily munitions like Patriot interceptors — were paused in June as part of a Pentagon review of US munitions stockpiles. But those deliveries have since resumed, officials said. As part of the effort to arm Ukraine, the US struck an agreement with Berlin under which Germany would send additional Patriot air-defence systems to Kyiv. Ukraine is set to receive the first two of these systems in the coming days, the German government said Friday. In exchange, Germany will be the first nation to receive the newest Patriot systems off the US production line at 'an accelerated pace,' according to a release from the German government. To facilitate this agreement, the Pentagon moved Germany ahead of Switzerland in the queue for the next Patriots, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. The US plans to reshuffle future Patriot deliveries as additional countries sign on to send the systems from their arsenals to Ukraine, a senior US official said. The Wall Street Journal Artipoppe's 'Zeitgeist' carrier has taken over women's social feeds and the sidewalks of wealthy neighbourhoods. The Wall Street Journal Western brands suffer downturn, while gold jewellery brand Laopu's stock price surges.
Daily Telegraph
2 days ago
- Daily Telegraph
Aus company secures $125m order for high power laser weapon
Don't miss out on the headlines from Innovation. Followed categories will be added to My News. An Australian technology company has secured a 'groundbreaking' $125 million deal with a European country for a 'high energy laser weapon system' designed to shoot down over a dozen drones within a minute. Electro Optic Systems (EOS) signed a contract with a European NATO Member State – the name of which has not been disclosed – to deliver the 100-kilowatt anit-drone weapon between 2025-2028. 'The new laser counter-drone capability was developed by EOS to address the urgent market need and emerging strategic requirement to defend against drone swarm attacks at an economical cost,' EOS said in a statement on its website. 'This is the world's first export order for a 100-kilowatt class laser defence system.' The high energy laser weapons was designed to defend against drone swarm attacks. Picture: Supplied/Electro Optic Systems The company said the order, which is valued at €71.4 million (or about $A125 million), will be fulfilled in Singapore, where EOS has a laser innovation centre. 'EOS is already an established global leader in counter-drone capability using kinetic weapons and missiles to bring down drones. The high-power laser builds on these core competencies and substantially extends them.' The system – which is mobile and can work on a truck – operates 'at the speed of light' and can shoot down as many as twenty drones in a minute, Dr Andreas Schwer, Chief Executive Officer of Electro Optic Systems told 'The laser can hit a target almost instantly … unlike a bullet which takes a second to get there,' Dr Schwer said. The order is valued at $A125 million. Picture: Electro Optic Systems The laser can hit a target almost instantly. Picture: Electro Optic Systems He said the system works by amplifying lasers to high power levels. '(It) then combines multiple laser beams together,' he explained. 'It tracks targets very accurately – this is critical – and keeps the laser beam on the target … The light energy typically degrades the drone target in 1-2 seconds.' While missiles generally have a longer range, the high-power laser system 'can shoot down many more targets' at a cheaper cost within a two to five kilometre range. 'Missile systems cost $0.5m – $2.0m per shot fired,' Dr Schwer said. 'The laser system costs less than 10 cents per shot.' 'Lasers can shoot directly upwards, which ballistics (bullets and missiles) often cannot do,' he added. A Russian drone attacks a building during a Russian missile and drone air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 17, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky With drones becoming increasingly more common in modern warfare and swarms posing a 'real threat', Dr Schwer said militaries will need to employ a 'layered solution', including laser systems, rocket systems and longer-range missiles to protect their valuable assets. 'Drones are a big threat both in military and civil domains,' he said. 'Because drones get cheaper every year, everyone is using them and many valuable assets are very vulnerable.' He noted other countries are trying to develop laser weapon technology, 'but it is very complex'. 'This is the first very international supply contract of this size in the laser weapon industry – a groundbreaking deal for our industry and for EOS,' he said in a video on the company's website. Looking to the future, Dr Schwer said laser weapons will continue to play a role on the battlefield, becoming more powerful and portable over time. Going forward, the company is looking to expand its 50 to 100 kilowatt family and develop systems towards the 150 kilowatt class to meet future needs. 'We are also looking to develop naval variants of our models, giving the critical gap in the market for effective counter-drone solutions.' Russia tests laser defences It comes as Russia last month conducted large-scale tests of new laser systems to defend against drones – which both Ukraine and Russia have deployed during the nations' three year war. 'These technologies will form one of the key elements of the universal air defense system President Vladimir Putin recently called for,' the Board of the Military-Industrial Complex said in a statement. 'The test results will be used to refine existing models and create systems capable of providing reliable protection against modern air attack weapons.' Russian soldiers prepare a strike FPV drone aircraft to fly towards Ukrainian position in an undisclosed location. Picture: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP Meanwhile, Ukraine last year announced it had developed its own laser weapon which can target and down aircraft at altitudes exceeding two kilometres. Speaking at the 'European Defense Industry: Prospects for Cooperation with the Ukrainian Defense Industry' conference in December, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi said the country's military proudly declared Tryzub (trident) 'laser is real and operational', adding that efforts were underway to scale up its capabilities against Russia. Colonel Sukharevskyi also introduced the concept of 'mother drones' or 'queen drones' — unmanned aerial systems capable of carrying two FPV (first-person view) light attack drones during his address. According to the Kyiv Independent, the announcement marked a significant leap in Ukraine's military innovation. Originally published as 'Speed of light': Australian company secures 'groundbreaking' $125m order for high power anti-drone weapon
