Defined Terms and Documents       

eftpos means according to the "Murray Financial System Enquiry - Payments Sector" the largest Debit Cards payment scheme provider owned by a number of financial institutions and retailers.  Its main competitors are MasterCard and Visa, which are increasing their share in that market.33

In 2009 eftpos Payments Australia Ltd was established as a separate commercial organisation enabling it to compete with the card schemes and in 2014.

For about three decades, consumers and merchants have trusted eftpos as a safe, convenient and efficient method of payment.  "Launched in the 1980s, eftpos introduced a fast, simple and secure payment system which was rapidly embraced by both shoppers and merchants. eftpos revolutionised the way we pay for goods and services, and as a result changed the retail landscape forever.  Today, eftpos competes in an ever-changing, dynamic environment against a number of payment systems.  eftpos is owned and operated by Australians and is an essential and valuable part of the fabric of everyday Australian life.  In 2015, Australian consumers performed more than 2.3 billion eftpos transactions worth more than $140 billion at around 900,000 eftpos terminals.  It is Australia’s most widely used debit card payments system.  Each day Australians make more than 6.3 million eftpos transactions.

EFTPOS reached Australian shores in 1983, bringing with it a whole new world, as debit cards replaced the old ‘charge cards’. Interestingly, debit cards have become increasingly more popular since the GFC as people had to cut back on impulse and luxury purchases, according to RBA statistics:

  • In August 2004, 49% of card purchases were via debit card and 51% were via credit card.

  • In August 2014, 66% of card purchases were via debit card and 34% were via credit card.

 

eftpos is wholly owned by its 18 Members:

See eftpos Cards and Payment Cards