RBA’s Lowe Urges Banks to Cut Costs, Boost Speed on Payments

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe called on the nation’s lenders to intensify efforts to reduce the cost of payments and increase their speed, including for cross-border transactions.

“Slow progress by the major banks imposes a cost on the rest of the industry,” Lowe said in a speech Wednesday, referring to delays in launching a direct-debit service that allows businesses to receive real-time payments from customers’ banks accounts.