With nearly half of card payments now made through mobile wallets, the way Australians pay has changed faster than many of the rules around it, and that shift forms the backdrop to the payments priorities the RBA plans to publish by the end of 2026.

Pull out a phone, hold it near the terminal, wait for the beep. For a growing number of Australians, that is now what paying by card looks like. Ellis Connolly, Head of Payments Policy at the Reserve Bank of Australia, told the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) on 20 October 2026 that nearly 50% of card payments are made via mobile wallets.

That single number captures a structural change in everyday payments. It also helps explain why the RBA is treating the period after its Surcharge reforms not as the end of a process, but as the start of the next one.

The numbers behind the shift

Connolly drew on several data points in his AFIA remarks:

  • nearly 50% of card payments are made via mobile wallets
  • cards account for 75% of payments, based on a consumer survey the RBA has run every three years since 2008
  • the RBA received about 70 submissions to its payments regulation review.

Put together, cards dominate how people pay, and the card itself is increasingly a digital credential stored on a phone or watch. Because the survey has run on a three-yearly cycle since 2008, it lets the RBA track habits over a long period.

Why the device in the middle matters

When a payment is made with a physical card, the chain runs from the cardholder, through the card network and the institutions on either side, to the merchant. A mobile wallet adds another layer: the technology and platform that sit between the cardholder and the terminal.

That extra layer raises questions that do not arise in the same way with a plastic card, including how the arrangements are governed and how resilient they are. Connolly touched on resilience in broad terms, observing that "you can have situations where you can end up being as exposed as the weakest point in the network".

That remark was not a specific finding about mobile wallets or any provider, but it captures why a shift of this scale draws attention. When half of card payments rely on a particular route, the soundness of that route becomes more important for the system as a whole.

The RBA's Financial Stability Review, released on 1 October 2026, listed disruptions at critical service providers among the elevated threats to financial stability, alongside geopolitical tensions, global market vulnerabilities and AI. It did not single out wallets, but it shows the RBA is watching operational links across the system.

From surcharges to the next agenda

The most visible reforms of 2026 have focused on cost. From 1 October 2026, surcharges were removed on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa payments, and lower domestic interchange caps began. PayPal removed surcharges from 5 October, while American Express and UnionPay are also removing surcharges, although they are not formally regulated by the RBA.

Connolly framed that work simply: "we're really trying to put downward pressure on merchants' payment costs". A transparency timetable follows. Card networks and large acquirers began publishing card fee information on 30 October 2026; large acquirers publish the pass-through of interchange cuts by 30 January 2027; and from 1 April 2027 all acquirers must provide more detailed merchant statements, while interchange caps apply to foreign-issued cards.

What comes after that is still being decided. Governor Michele Bullock told the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on 28 October 2026 that payments regulatory priorities are due by the end of 2026, with consultation on prioritised issues by mid-2027. Connolly said: "The plan is by the end of this year to have publicised what the areas of priority are".

The RBA has not said which issues will make that list. The mobile wallet figures are best read as context for the exercise rather than a confirmed item on its agenda, and readers should treat claims about specific outcomes with caution until the priorities are published.

What it means for shoppers and businesses

For consumers, the immediate effects of the 2026 reforms are already in place. Paying by eftpos, Mastercard or Visa should not attract a surcharge, whether the card is tapped in plastic form or through a phone. Charges outside the ban remain possible: the RBA FAQ notes that weekend and public holiday surcharges, booking fees and service fees are not covered, and that discounts for particular payment methods are still allowed.

For merchants, the growth of mobile wallets sits alongside the new disclosure regime. As fee information and more detailed statements become available, businesses will have more data on what they are paying to accept cards, however those cards are presented. Businesses wanting to understand how the changes apply to them can consider speaking with their payments provider or a licensed adviser.

Payments policy is distinct from the RBA's Interest Rate decisions, but both are in the spotlight this week. On 3 November 2026, the Monetary Policy Board raised the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.85%, in a 6–3 decision. That move concerns the price of money; the payments work concerns how money moves. Each affects households and businesses, through different channels.

Governor Bullock, speaking at a University of New England graduation in Armidale on 23 October 2026, put the institution's purpose in plain terms: "ultimately, the work of the RBA is about people." In payments, that translates into how easily and cheaply people can pay and be paid, and how reliably the systems behind a phone tap keep working.

The bottom line

Nearly 50% of card payments now go through mobile wallets, and cards make up 75% of payments overall, according to figures cited by Connolly. Those numbers describe a payments system that has moved well beyond the plastic card. The RBA's next step is to publish its payments regulatory priorities by the end of 2026, followed by consultation by mid-2027. It has not said whether mobile wallets will be among those priorities, but the scale of the shift, and the RBA's stated focus on resilience and merchant costs, make it a central part of the landscape any new agenda will have to address.