Australia's ePayments Code sets consumer protections for cards, online banking, mobile payments and electronic transfers. It addresses payment terms, unauthorised-transaction liability, mistaken internet payments and complaints, connecting safeguards with investigation and response.
TL;DR:
- Subscriber providers offer protections for covered consumer electronic payments.
- Allocates unauthorised-payment liability and addresses mistaken internet payments.
- This voluntary code does not provide universal statutory reimbursement.
Summary
A voluntary code with subscriber-based coverage
The ePayments Code is administered by ASIC and is presently a voluntary code of practice. Many banks, credit unions and building societies subscribe, along with some non-bank businesses. It covers defined consumer electronic payment transactions rather than all transfers by every provider. The first scope question is therefore whether the organisation is a subscriber and whether the relevant product and transaction are covered. ASIC publishes a subscriber list, and subscribing firms identify the commitment in their terms.
Information before and after a payment
The Code requires subscribers to provide clear terms and conditions and governs communication of changes, including fee increases. It also addresses receipts and statements, helping customers understand the payment relationship and identify errors. These requirements connect customer information with the ongoing operation of an account or facility. They should not be confused with a licensing regime: subscription concerns how a provider treats covered users, not a general authorisation to offer financial services.
Unauthorised and mistaken payments differ
The Code sets rules for determining responsibility for unauthorised transactions and a separate process for mistaken internet payments. Those situations are different: a customer can authorise a transfer but send it to the wrong account. The applicable facts and Code provisions determine the response, so the existence of the Code does not mean every disputed or scam-related transaction receives the same reimbursement treatment. Investigation and the classification of the payment remain important to applying its protections.
Exemptions and the applicable product
ASIC can issue written exemptions or declarations modifying how the Code applies to a subscriber and publishes those instruments. The Code also has more limited requirements for specified low-value facilities. A practical reading therefore combines the latest Code with the provider’s subscription, the product terms and any relevant exemption. This preserves the difference between the general consumer-protection framework and the particular rights attached to a payment facility, rather than assuming that every electronic payment in Australia is covered identically.
Keywords
- ePayments Code
- ASIC subscribers
- unauthorised payments
- mistaken transfers
- consumer protection
- electronic banking
- liability allocation
- recovery procedures
- voluntary code
- provider exemptions