ApplicationApplication

Application

This Standard is determined under Section 18 of the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998.
This Standard applies to the payment system operated within Australia known as Visa Debit, which was designated as a payment system on 23 February 2004.
In this Standard:

an ‘acquirer’ is a participant in the Visa Debit system in Australia that provides services to a merchant to allow that merchant to accept a Visa Debit card;
‘credit card transaction’ has the same meaning as in the Standard The Setting of Wholesale (‘Interchange’) Fees in the Designated Credit Card Schemes;
‘financial year’ is the 12-month period ending 30 June;
an ‘issuer’ is a participant in the Visa Debit system in Australia that issues Visa Debit cards to its customers;
‘merchant’ means a merchant in Australia that accepts a Visa Debit card for payment for goods or services;
‘reference year’ is the financial year prior to the relevant year;
‘relevant year’ is the financial year in which the benchmark must be calculated;
‘Visa Debit card’ means a card issued by a participant in the Visa Debit payment system, under the rules of the Scheme, that allows the cardholder to make payments to merchants for goods or services by accessing a deposit account held at an authorised deposit-taking institution;
‘Visa Debit card transaction’ means a transaction in Australia between a Visa Debit cardholder and a merchant involving the purchase of goods or services using a Visa Debit card (net of credits, reversals and chargebacks);
terms defined in the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 have the same meaning in this Standard.
4. This Standard refers to wholesale fees, known as ‘interchange’ fees, which are payable between an issuer and an acquirer, directly or indirectly, in relation to a Visa Debit card transaction.
5. Each participant in the Visa Debit system must do all things necessary on its part to ensure compliance with this Standard.
6. If any part of this Standard is invalid, the Standard is ineffective only to the extent of such part without invalidating the remaining parts of this Standard.
7. This Standard is to be interpreted:

in accordance with its objective; and
by looking beyond form to substance.

8. This Standard comes into force on the date on which it is published in the Gazette.