Australia considering new laws for Apple, Google, WeChat digital wallets

A store advertises the use of the Google Pay digital payment system. The Australian report recommended the government be given the power to designate tech companies as payment providers, clarifying the regulatory status of digital wallets. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: The Australian government is considering new laws that would tighten the regulation of digital payment services by tech giants such as Apple and Alphabet’s Google.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he would “carefully consider” that and other recommendations from a government-commissioned report into whether the payments system had kept pace with advances in technology and changes in consumer demand.