Regulators of Australia's credit card payment system say it is not clear whether more competition or direct regulation would help cut fees, according to a Bloomberg News report.
"We believe there has been good progress in promoting competition over recent years," Malcolm Edey, an assistant governor with the Reserve Bank of Australia, said Sunday during a speech.
"But it's not yet clear whether that will be sufficient," Edey said. He made no comments about monetary policy or the economy.
Australia has imposed credit card regulations, including lower interchange fees, that have been discussed in the United States in the past year.
"We'd prefer to see fees being held down by competition than by direct regulation," Edey said at the Cards & Payments Australasia 2010 Conference in Sydney.
