Australia central bank looks to rid Visa, Mastercard of debit payments edge

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian regulators will consider intervening to stop banks from automatically directing "tap-and-go" card payments through the world's largest payment processors Visa and Mastercard Inc, the central bank said on Wednesday.

Banks must stop automatically directing debit card payments through the two global networks, and instead give retailers the cheaper option to use local network EFTPOS, Philip Lowe, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), told reporters.