ACCC sees benefit in cheque clearing, bulk electronic transaction clearing rules

Published Tuesday, 20 April 2010

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it has reauthorised certain regulations governing the operation of the Australian Paper Clearing System (APCS).

The ACCC has also issued a draft determination proposing to reauthorise certain regulations governing the operation of the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS). The APCS and BECS are managed by the Australian Payments Clearing Association.

The APCS coordinates, manages and ensures the implementation and operation of policies and procedures for the processing of payments made using paper instruments, primarily cheques.

BECS manages the conduct of the exchange and settlement of bulk direct entry electronic low value transactions. BECS allows approved organisations to make arrangements with their financial institution to debit and/or credit large numbers of customers' accounts on a regular basis.

APCA has sought reauthorisation for the suspension and termination provisions of the APCS and BECS regulations. These provisions have been authorised by the ACCC, and its predecessor, the Trade Practices Commission, since 1993 and 1994 respectively.

The ACCC considered the suspension and termination provisions of the APCS and BECS regulations continue to produce a public benefit by helping to maintain the security, efficiency and integrity of the paper clearing and bulk electronic transaction clearing processes.

The ACCC also considered that the suspension and termination provisions of the APCS and BECS regulations are not unreasonable and notes that they have never had to be used. Further, there are checks and balances in place to prevent the misuse of the suspension and termination provisions for anti-competitive purposes.

20 April, 2010