The Reserve Bank of Australia has proposed removing surcharges on card transactions to ease costs for businesses. The proposal is open for public consultation, with potential implementation a year after approval.

Council of the City of Sydney

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has released a report estimating that consumers pay $1.2 billion annually in card surcharges. The RBA is proposing the removal of interchange fees on EFTPOS, Visa, and Mastercard transactions, which could eliminate surcharges and leave 90% of businesses better off by reducing costs they typically absorb.

While the move could benefit most businesses and simplify payments for consumers, some small and family-run businesses are concerned about the potential impact on their profits. The RBA believes increased transparency and competition among point-of-sale technology providers could further help businesses. The proposal is open for public consultation, with potential implementation a year after approval.

RBA proposes removing of card surcharge

For Abe, putting the convenience of his customers first comes at a less-than-convenient cost. This year alone, I've lost over two grand, just in fees. Cash is no longer king, and a subject of a cashless society who's even keeping count. A few cents surcharge, but I never really considered it, or thought twice about it. I never consider it, to be totally honest, no. The Reserve Bank has regulated charges on bank and credit cards for the last 20 years. Surcharges introduced to encourage spending habits are no longer doing what they were intended for. In a new report, the RBA estimates that consumers pay $1.2 billion in card surcharges annually, a figure they say could be saved by removing interchange fees on FPOS, Visa and Mastercard, leaving 90% of businesses better off by removing a cost they usually wear. Somewhere along the line, someone's going to have to pay for it, either the consumer, the retailer or the banks themselves. To allow cashless payments, it's generally businesses who absorb the cost, usually for the tools to accept them. Areas such as hospitality cover that with a surcharge. Removing it could cut their profits. It's going to really affect those small family businesses, those self-employed businesses. The RBA says if what they propose is implemented, then consumers can tap happily without worrying about which card is charged what and by whom. Now businesses will still have to find a point of sale technology provider, but enforceable transparency should also mean more competition and allow them to find a better deal as well. Great to have more information about actually what are the fees and where are they going. Consultation will remain open for the next six weeks if the proposed changes do come to fruition, they'd kick in a year from now. Chris Campi, 10 News.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump's administration to resume dismantling the Department of Education, part of his bid to shrink the federal government's role in education in favor of more control by the states.

Washington

U.S. Supreme Court clears way for Trump to gut Education Department

US President Donald Trump told Russia to end its war in Ukraine within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions, as he laid out plans for infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via NATO. "We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent," Trump said.

Global Tariffs

Trump gives Moscow 50-day ultimatum over Ukraine war

A Gaza-bound boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid left Sicily, over a month after Israel detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel.

Sicily

New Gaza-bound aid boat leaves Italy

The U.S. will manufacture more weapons to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. President Trump said European nations will be footing the bill.

Ukraine Invasion

U.S. to send more weapons to Ukraine

Christian leaders have accused Israeli settlers of attacking sacred sites in the West Bank. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III - visiting the Christian town of Taybeh with other clerics - said settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th century church there last week.

Jerusalem

Clerics accuse West Bank settlers of attacking Christian sites

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Beijing ahead of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He's there to broaden economic cooperation with China, which is Australia's top trade partner, while taking into account security concerns.

Beijing

Australia's Albanese pushes Aussie exports in China visit

In an Oval Office meeting, President Trump announced that the US will sell weapons to European nations, who will then send them to Ukraine. The president also threatened new trade consequences if no peace deal is reached with Ukraine within 50 days.

Trump gives Russia new deadline for Ukraine peace deal

Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary and the U.S. are returning from the International Space Station following the historic Axiom Mission 4 trip. CBS News' consultant Bill Harwood joins with more details.

Cape Canaveral

Axiom Mission 4 crew returns from historic trip to I.S.S.

Hundreds of Palestinians on Sunday (July 13) mourned two men who were killed in overnight clashes by settlers in the West Bank. One of the deceased is 20-year-old Sayafollah Musallet, a U.S. citizen.

Mourners bury U.S. citizen killed in West Bank settler attack

Search efforts resumed for the more than 160 people still missing from the deadly July 4 floods in Central Texas after being halted Sunday morning due to renewed flood threats. CBS News' Karen Hua has the latest.

Kerrville

Heavy rains halt recovery efforts in central Texas

Following his recent criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine. Trump, for the first time since he took office in January, is also considering authorizing new funding for Ukraine.

Trump considers new funding for Ukraine

Two women were killed and two people were injured in a church shooting in Lexington, Kentucky, after the suspect initially shot a state trooper, police said. CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes has the latest.

Lexington

Two women killed in Kentucky church shooting

The European Union said it would extend its suspension of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement, after U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up his trade war on the bloc.

Brussels

EU holds off on U.S. tariff countermeasures for now to pursue talks

One year ago, Thomas Crooks, a recent community college graduate, opened fire on then-candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A year later, there's still no answers to why Crooks did it. Scott MacFarlane reports.

Butler

Motive still a mystery a year after Trump assassination attempt

Several European leaders and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have expressed disappointment at the 30% tariffs US President Donald Trump has announced, but maintained openness to reach a negotiated solution.

Leaders of EU and Mexico slam Trump's 30% tariffs

A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel.

Ahmedabad

Air India crash report shows pilot confusion over fuel cutoff

Iran’s foreign minister says his country is ready to resume nuclear talks with the United States but will need assurances that there will be no more attacks against it. Abbas Araghchi made the comments on Saturday, during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran.

Tehran

Middle East Conflict

Iran willing to resume nuclear talks with U.S. if given assurances

Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said on Sunday (July 13), responding to a report that the Pentagon has pressed its ally to clarify what role it would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan.

Australia to 'support status quo' on Taiwan amid U.S. defense push

The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan, the Financial Times is reporting. According to the newspaper, the reported request caught Japan and Australia 'off-guard'.

Taipei

Australia caught 'off guard' by U.S demands over Taiwan

A federal judge in California temporarily halted the Trump administration from making indiscriminate arrests based on race and denying detainees access to lawyers.

Los Angeles

Judge orders Trump to stop Californian immigration raids

President Trump issued new threats in his global trade war, aiming at two more of America's biggest trading partners. The E.U. and Mexico responded by calling the tariffs unfair and disruptive.

Trump announces tariffs on European Union, Mexico

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem asked the Israeli government for details following the death of an American citizen in the West Bank. It comes as Israel's defense minister created controversy this week when he announced plans to build a new so-called safe humanitarian city for Gazans.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Palestinian-American dies in West Bank

Palestinians and human rights activists expressed alarm after Israel's defence minister said he plans to move all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp at the southern tip of the war-battered enclave, according to Israeli media.

Rafah

Israel's plan for 'humanitarian city' in Rafah sparks outrage

President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal.

Mexico City

Trump intensifies trade war, threatens 30% tariffs on EU, Mexico

On June 12, the London-bound Boeing 787 crashed in Ahmedabad. All 230 passengers on board, except for one, were killed.

Engine fuel cut off before Air India plane crash, report reveals

A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed, killing 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped, starving the engines of fuel.

Air India crash report shows confusion over engine switch movement

An Israeli airstrike hit Palestinians near a medical center in Gaza on Thursday, killing 10 children and six adults, local health authorities said, as ceasefire talks dragged on with no immediate deal expected. This report contains graphic and disturbing images.

Breakdown