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Many would welcome the announcement that the RBA is going to remove surcharges on debit and credit cards in Australia. I would ask why has it taken so long for the RBA to act on digital surcharges? The number $1.8 billion in imposts from these surcharges annually has been revealed by the research. These fees are the largely hidden hands reaching in to take unwarranted funds from every transaction utilising these digital tools. Is it any wonder that banks make billions and the rest of us are doing it tough in our economy? Those with the inside running reap rewards for doing bugger all, whilst most of us struggle to make ends meet these days.
“Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged the work of the Reserve Bank in coming up with the changes and said it would simplify the arrangements.
“Australians hate paying these charges, let’s be blunt about it,”
he said.
“What these changes will do is give consumers more certainty and transparency.” “
The Big Tech Business Model Full Of Fees & Charges
We have been living in an age where hidden charges prevail across the board. These financialization fees all originate from the American model that is copied around the world. Big Tech is replete with revenue raising subscriptions and charges for every digital product and service. It is a means for American multinational corporations to dip their hands into pockets around the world. At the same time, they avoid paying their fair share of tax on revenues generated in Australia and elsewhere. They do this via accounting tricks like shifting profits to tax havens. Corporations only pay tax on profits. Huge IP charges paid to associated companies in these tax havens like the Virgin Islands and Ireland shift the billion dollar profits in the case of companies like Google (Alphabet), Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Uber, Pepsi, News Corp and many others.
Who Are The RBA?
The RBA is a central bank. What does that mean? It means that it is the big dog of banks downunder. The RBA sets the interest rates on the cash rate for all other banks to follow. The RBA is primarily about keeping inflation within a 2-3% band within the Aussie economy. It is, however, a bank and bankers invariably back business over all other sectors of the economy. Traditionally, the RBA points the finger at rising wages as the bogeyman of high inflation. Bankers hang out with magnates and business leaders – it is their milieu. They are not on the side of ordinary workers but rather on those they consider to be driving the economy of the nation. This is fundamentally why it has taken so long for the RBA to act on digital surcharges.
Digital Surcharges & The Financialized Economy
Digital surcharges and fees have been part of the financialization of the modern economy. Australia follows the United States, like a kid brother at the fair, in all things business orientated. We slavishly copy their lead in the manipulated version of capitalism currently on display around the globe. American capitalism features lots of monopolies and duopolies, which means little to no competition in sectors. This denudes consumers of their buying power and allows big corporations to set the prices and profiteer. Big Tech is, basically, a bunch of monopolies sucking subscriptions out of consumers on the back of their digital services. Google the search engine par excellence. Meta/Facebook the social media ad powerhouse. Amazon the global giant online store. Microsoft/Windows. Apple/iPhones. The RBA seems to be on board with all this concentration of power in the hands of companies and bugger all competition in the market. Bankers love profitable businesses. All of these American multinational Big Tech giants avoid paying tax in the countries they generate billions in revenue from by accountancy trickery. Shifting profits via dubious IP charges to associated entities that reside in tax havens. The digitalization of everything has seen huge revenue dispersals away from local businesses to these American multinationals.
Hidden Fees Gouge Out Plenty From Ordinary Australians
Australians pay between 1 and 2 billion dollars each year in card fees for digital payments. That breaks down to an average $140 per household.
“In 2025, when cashless payments make up about three quarters of all transactions, isn’t it time surcharges were treated as critical infrastructure and subsequently offered at close to cost?
Adelaide hospitality business owner Jim Christou certainly thinks so.
He says he is paying his bank $25,000 year just for the “privilege” of using cashless payment systems.
“It’s a scam. It’s a big scam,”
he said.”
“We live in a time of technological wonders. Technology, however, is not something just of itself, rather it comes loaded with revenue making deals for the vehicles that promote it. Think about the great choice of digital entertainment now available through all these streaming services. In the old days, we only had free to air TV offering limited content via broadcasting networks. Televised ads paid for these networks and programmes. Cable TV changed that and consumers paid a subscription fee and watched content ad free. Now, we get to pay those subscription fees and watch ads as well – how great is that! This is the progress running through Big Tech operations these days. The bean counters and CEOs are demanding ever greater ROIs to boost the share price. We were all promised better futures from these technological advances but instead we are saddled with higher fees and charges making our lives unaffordable. In reality, we have less now and are asked to pay more. American lies ruining lives, as ruthless business models exploit the citizenry.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The AI Heresy; What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK
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