By Asher Moses and Jacob Saulwick
eBay's plan to force all of its users on to PayPal faces opposition from the Reserve Bank, which is considering weighing in to the issue.
The Central Bank has long called for buyers and sellers to have as much choice as possible in what payment systems they use and strongly opposes any moves that reduce competition in the market.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating whether eBay Australia's new policy of forcing all items to be paid for using PayPal, which eBay owns, or cash on delivery/pick-up, breaches trade practice and competition laws.
PayPal performs payment processing for online sellers, allowing them to accept credit card payments and money transfers without having their own merchant credit card accounts.
But the policy, to come into effect on June 17, will mean direct bank deposits, cheques and money orders will all be barred.
The move by the auction site is presently limited to Australia only and will hit sellers with extra fees because PayPal charges them a fee of between 1.1 and 2.4 per cent to accept payments - usually using credit cards - via the service.
Several groups have expressed concern that forcing eBay users on to PayPal, rather than giving them the choice of which payment method to use, would prevent the emergence of competitors to PayPal in the online payments market.
The ACCC is inviting submissions from the public on the issue until May 2. It is understood the Reserve Bank, which has in the past stated it would like more competition for payments over the internet rather than less, is now deciding whether to make a submission.
Strong opposition from the Central Bank would almost certainly scuttle eBay's plans. The auction site's global chief executive, John Donahoe, has said the PayPal policy will be rolled out in other countries if it is successful here.
The Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, which includes eBay's top sellers who generate hundreds of millions of dollars in sales on the site each year, strongly opposes the changes and plans to lead a worldwide revolt.
Alastair MacGibbon, eBay's trust and safety director, said the announcement was designed to protect users as one is four times less likely to have a problem on eBay if one pays using PayPal than with other methods.
The Reserve Bank has ruled out stepping back unconditionally from regulating the payments system, and remains concerned about the level of market power held by credit card companies.
The Reserve has expressed support for new methods of payment that could act as competition for international card schemes. New methods could give merchants and customers more choice about how they make and receive payments.
A 2006 speech by an Assistant Governor of the Central Bank, Philip Lowe, documented the growth of alternative payment schemes overseas that had not yet been adopted in Australia.
For example, a number of countries had adopted "online debit" schemes that allow customers to transfer money directly from their bank account to the merchant without needing to use a credit card or scheme debit card.
Research by the Reserve has found that credit card payments are more costly than EFTPOS and cash, due to the fees imposed, the higher risk of fraud. and the length of time it takes for shopkeepers to process the payments.