Latest Payments News: New Zealand’s Central Bank Proposes Oversight Of Its High-Value Payment System, and more

Catch up on some of the stories our payments compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

New Zealand’s Central Bank Proposes Oversight Of Its High-Value Payment System

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has launched a consultation on a proposal to bring the High Value Clearing System (HVCS) under formal regulation, aligning it with international norms.

The central bank said it wants New Zealand’s minister of finance to designate the HVCS under the country’s Financial Market Infrastructures (FMI) Act, bringing it more in line with how payment systems are overseen in comparable jurisdictions.

This move would subject the system to regulatory supervision by RBNZ and require adherence to the standards set by the legislation.

“Designating HVCS will allow us to make sure that HVCS is operating soundly and efficiently,” said Scott McKinnon, RBNZ’s director of specialist supervision.

“It would also allow us to look closely at the governance, access and crisis management of HVCS, while giving us powers that can help avoid significant damage to the financial system if there were problems with HVCS.”

The HVCS, operated by Payments NZ, is a dedicated payment system responsible for clearing high-value transactions in New Zealand, including property settlements and other time-critical payments.

In 2024, the HVCS cleared an average monthly value of approximately $420bn, equivalent to 1.2 times New Zealand’s GDP, highlighting its centrality to the functioning of the financial system.

According to RBNZ, the HVCS is not easily substitutable, and disruption to its operations could pose significant risks to financial stability. If designated, it would benefit from greater legal protections, such as settlement finality, while also facing more robust oversight.

Digital Assets Working Group Reinforces US Opposition To CBDCs

In addition to the domestic ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), the US should discourage their use abroad, the presidential working group on digital assets has recommended.

In its report setting out the Trump administration’s approach to digital assets, published on July 30, 2025, the working group urged tough action to deter the use of CBDCs domestically and overseas.

It said that the US should “discourage, oppose, and prohibit the ability of any agency from undertaking any action to establish, issue, or promote any CBDCs in the United States or abroad”.

Among its recommendations, the group called for support of legislation prohibiting the adoption of any CBDCs in the US, such as the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.

The report suggests that, alongside calls to support US technological leadership and upgrade domestic and cross-border payment systems, the US should urge other countries to promote the private sector within a technology-neutral regulatory regime.

It also recommends examining the extent to which US federal agencies, including the banking agencies, have engaged in CBDC research or pilot programmes contrary to the policies outlined in President Trump’s January 2025 Executive Order banning the creation of CBDCs in the US.  

The order prohibited the promotion of CBDCs domestically and abroad and established the working group to recommend legislation and regulation on the administration’s digital asset policies.

'We'll Be Watching': FCA Tightens UK Payment Safeguarding Rules From May 2026

Consumers using payment and e-money firms in the UK will benefit from stronger protections from next year under new safeguarding rules finalised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The new rules are intended to ensure that customer funds are properly safeguarded and can be swiftly returned in the event of firm failure, addressing persistent weaknesses identified by the regulator in past insolvencies.

“People rely on payment firms to help manage their financial lives, but too often, when those firms fail, their customers are left out of pocket,” said Matthew Long, the FCA’s director of payments and digital assets.

“Most of those who responded to our consultation agreed we need to raise standards to protect people’s money and build trust, but any changes needed to be proportionate, especially for smaller firms.”

Long added, “We’ll be watching closely to see if firms seize the opportunity and make effective improvements that their customers rightly deserve – this will help us to determine whether any further tightening of rules is necessary.”

As covered by Vixio, the FCA began consulting on safeguarding in autumn 2024, after criticising firms in their Dear CEO letters and recent court cases, such as the Igapoo administration ruling.

As the FCA points out, between Q1 2018 and Q2 2023, failed payment firms had average shortfalls of 65 percent of their customers’ funds, highlighting systemic flaws in safeguarding practices.

North Dakota Court Strikes Down Fed’s Revised Debit Card Fee Rule, Limits Board’s Discretion

A federal court in North Dakota has struck down the Federal Reserve’s revised debit card interchange fee rule, concluding that the US central bank overstepped its statutory authority under the Durbin Amendment.

In a 44-page decision issued on August 6 in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, US district judge Daniel M. Traynor quashed the regulation.

However, the judge put the ruling on hold pending appeal, to avoid leaving debit card fees completely without regulation.

The ruling also keeps in place the Fed’s pending updates to Regulation II, finalised in 2023, which are intended to lower the interchange cap based on the latest issuer data.

The ruling has already prompted strong responses from financial players, including the Bank Policy Institute and the Clearing House, which issued a joint statement.

“We are severely disappointed in the Court’s interpretation of the Durbin Amendment,” the statement reads.

It goes on to argue that the payment system is “secure, convenient and reliable because of significant investment by banks, and today’s decision, if affirmed, would undermine that system”.

“It would disincentivize innovation and perpetuate a misguided notion that banks should be forced to offer products and services without being able to recover the costs necessary to sustain those investments,” the statement says, with the financial players vowing to “evaluate the Court’s decision and continue to pursue every avenue to ensure that banks can recover their costs and reasonable return, as the Durbin Amendment itself provides.”

Use Your Registration Or Lose It, AUSTRAC Warns Remittance Service Providers

Australian remittance service businesses must use their registration or see it cancelled, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has said, launching a voluntary deregistration drive.

More than 900 businesses are registered with AUSTRAC, but many could be inactive and therefore open to exploitation by criminals.

Issuing the warning, AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said dormant registrations could mislead the public and undermine the integrity of AUSTRAC’s registration system.

“We consider the remittance sector high risk, because of its exposure to cash and the fast, low-cost way funds can be transferred across borders,” Thomas added.

“We don’t want dormant businesses to maintain AUSTRAC registration, as registration suggests regulatory legitimacy and oversight but does not guarantee compliance.”

Remittance businesses must be registered with AUSTRAC to provide money transfer services legally, and they must comply with obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act, including maintaining up-to-date ownership and activity status.

Thomas said, “We’re urging inactive businesses to voluntarily de-register. If businesses don’t step off voluntarily, AUSTRAC will step in and cancel their registration.”

AUSTRAC’s voluntary deregistration drive follows a similar review of the digital currency exchange register, which saw 100 businesses slated for deregistration and 22 businesses withdrawing voluntarily.

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