Benzinga | Aug 30, 2021 09:37AM EDT

Australia Explores Stricter Laws For Apple, Google: Reuters

* The Australian government is exploring new rules to tighten digital payment services regulations by the tech giants like Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Google, and Tencent Holdings Ltd's (OTC: TCEHY) WeChat, Reuters reports.

* The growth of popular Apple Pay, Google Pay, and China's WeChat Pay enjoyed regulatory immunity to date as they were exempt from payment systems.

* The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently ordered the global financial watchdogs to restrain the voluminous data controlled by Google, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA).

* The Australian report sought government power to designate tech companies as payment providers, clarifying the regulatory status of digital wallets. The report urged the government and industry to establish a strategic plan for the broader payments ecosystem and a single, integrated licensing framework for payment systems.

* Payments through digital wallets had grown to 8% of in-person card transactions in 2019, up from 2% in 2016.

* The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which estimated the digital wallet transactions to more than doubled in the year, urged regulators to address competition issues and consider the safety implications of their use.

* Price Action: PYPL shares traded higher by 1.10% at $281.33 in the market session on the last check Monday.