Australia's payment systems require resilience along with innovation as they become more complex, more digital and more exposed to risks from outside Australia, said Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) Brad Jones in a Tuesday speech.

A safe and resilient payments system is critical for Australia's economy, with daily payment values settled by the Reserve Bank of Australia exceeding 10% of annual national output, Jones added as he noted that major disruptions to payments could threaten financial stability and economic activity.

According to Jones, rapid digitalization has improved efficiency but has also increased cyber risks and the impact of operational failures.

Jones added that cash remains essential for many Australians and provides a critical backup when digital payments fail, and the RBA supports reforms to ensure cash distribution remains resilient and crisis-ready.

Jones added that RBA's ongoing review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging focuses on reducing costs for consumers by changing surcharging rules across major card networks, lowering costs for merchants by cutting interchange fees charged on card transactions, and improving transparency by increasing disclosure of fees charged by service providers and publishing wholesale fees set by card networks.