Paymark urges tech advance

Shoppers will pay less in credit card fees if retailers adopt the latest electronic payment technologies, eftpos network operator Paymark says.

Paymark’s product and marketing head, Maxine Elliott, said New Zealand needed to develop its own next-generation digital payment technology that was cheaper than that offered by large international companies.

But it would need to be supported by retailers, she said.

‘‘Eftpos was world leading when it launched and New Zealanders were justifiably proud of the cutting-edge capability of our payments network,’’ Elliott said.

‘‘Over the past 35 or so years, that lead has slipped and now, according to [retailers], we are one of the most expensive places in the world to conduct electronic transactions.’’

A recent report by Retail NZ showed Kiwi retailers paid on average twice as much for payment transactions as Australian retailers, and between three and six times as much as their British counterparts. This resulted in higher prices for consumers, the report said.

In New Zealand the cost of innovations such as contactless payments has led to many shopkeepers refusing to accept them, Elliott said.

Paymark has touted its own open payments platform, Online Eftpos, as an example of a nextgeneration payment technology. It allows consumers to use their mobile banking app to buy goods and services online.

‘‘We see a world where personto-person payments are commonplace, where consumers can pay tradespeople via an app, where retailers can identify and reward repeat shoppers in real time,’’ Elliott said.

ASB and The Co-operative Bank customers can already use Online Eftpos, and Paymark is talking to other banks to join the network.