Melbourne
Australia will create a licencing framework for cryptocurrency exchanges and consider launching a retail central bank digital currency as part of the biggest overhaul of its A$650 billion-a-day ($463 billion) payments industry in a quarter of a century.
The country will also broaden its payment laws to cover online transaction providers like Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google as well as buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) providers like Afterpay Ltd (APT.AX), ending their run of operating without direct supervision.
“If we do not reform the current framework, it will be Silicon Valley that determines the future of our payment system,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in speech.
“Australia must retain its sovereignty over our payment system.”
Australia’s conservative government is positioning itself at the front of global efforts to rein in large technology companies, while taking a more inclusive approach than countries like India and China, which have criminalised cryptocurrency.
The use of cryptocurrency and non-cash payments has exploded in Australia during the pandemic as people’s lives shifted online.
About 55 million non-cash payments are made in Australia every day, according to government data, with almost half the population using their phones to make payments. The number of Australians transacting in cryptocurrency has surged 63% so far this year, compared with last year.
