Interchange will be in the spotlight in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s upcoming review of payments fees and payments regulation. One influential lobby group has placed interchange front and centre in its submission, one the Independent Payments Forum sums up as “a plan to cut $3 billion in card and mobile payment fees.” In a submission to the Reserve Bank of Australia later this month, the IPF says it will detail a proposal “to slash all the major fees associated with debit and credit card and mobile transactions that currently cost Australians $6.4 billion a year. “The majority of this massive cost burden is currently borne by small businesses and their customers who are often forced to pay three to five times more for card transactions than big retailers” IPF co-founder Warwick Ponder said. Key elements of the Independent Payments Forum plan include: •    Zero interchange on debit transactions…

PepsiCo, Inc., announced its agreement to acquire the remaining 50% interest in Sabra Dipping Company, LLC (Sabra) and PepsiCo-Strauss Fresh Dips & Spreads International GmbH (Obela) and become the sole owner of these companies, which make Sabra and Obela products. The company is currently 50/50 joint ventures that had been formed between PepsiCo and Strauss Group to manufacture, distribute, and sell refrigerated dips and spreads. The joint venture is based in New York and operates in US and Canada. The Obela joint venture is based in Geneva and operates in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. It has focused on the fresh dips category for over 15 years, forming Sabra and Obela as 50/50 joint ventures with the Strauss Group in 2008 and 2012, respectively. It has become a leading hummus brand with nearly $400 million in retail sales in US. This transaction will enable the company to continue to transform its portfolio and drive accelerated innovation to develop more…

The Federal Government will mandate that businesses must accept cash when selling essential items such as fuel and groceries. Recent data shows that cash is the preferred method of payment for around 1.5 million Australians, and while 94 per cent of businesses accept cash, the Federal Government wants to ensure that there is an ongoing place for cash in society. In a joint statement Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said that treasury will commence consultation before the end of 2024 on which businesses supplying essential goods and services should be covered by the mandate. “The consultation will consider the needs of those who rely on cash, including people in regional areas and those unable to use digital payments, as well as the impact on businesses, particularly small businesses. “It will also cover what further steps are required to ensure the long-term and…

Metcash Limited officially opened its new mega Distribution Centre (DC) in Truganina, Victoria, earlier this month.  The facility represents a substantial investment by Metcash in further improving the competitiveness and relevance of the independent retail network in Victoria. Designed to meet Metcash’s growing wholesale volume needs in Victoria and across Australia, the new and more efficient 115,000 square metre facility provides the independent retail network with a wider range of products for customers across both its Food and Liquor pillars. The new DC will also benefit local suppliers by providing them with an efficient route to market via Metcash’s extensive distribution network. The ~$300m mega DC is the largest single-level DC in Australia, equivalent in size to approximately six MCGs or 12 soccer fields. It will service over 4,000 independent stores, premises, and wholesale customers in Victoria and will stock products from over 1,900 suppliers. The DC is on track to achieve…

Imagine a shopper browsing their favorite store. The shelves are well-stocked, the checkout lines are short and everything feels seamless. Behind the scenes, there’s a silent orchestra of technology managing inventory levels, monitoring customer traffic flows, collecting online orders and ensuring it all runs smoothly and securely. This is the future of retail, where AI and data-driven systems quietly work to optimize operations, improve customer experiences and protect margins. As retailers race toward this vision of the “store of the future,” they face a critical challenge: keeping their IT infrastructure up to speed with the demands of a new digital era. AI-powered technologies like Epic iO’s DeepInsights platform are delivered on edge management platforms like Dell NativeEdge to play a transformative role in retail, enabling retailers to use computer vision to gather flow analytics, uncover insights that improve store layouts, reduce checkout times and streamline customer experiences. “IT has traditionally been a…

The new bidder, Ito-Kogyo Co., is a private company affiliated with Junro Ito, Seven & i’s vice president and representative director. Dive Brief: Ito-Kogyo’s bid for Seven & i comes as the world’s largest c-store retailer resists a takeover attempt by Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent company of Circle K convenience stores. After rejecting a $39 billion bid in early September, Seven & i received a revised offer from Couche-Tard last month, which Bloomberg reported could be as high as $47 billion. Seven & i Holdings, parent of 7-Eleven, has received a buyout proposal from one of its executives along with one of its largest shareholders, the company announced on Wednesday. The shareholder, Ito-Kogyo Co., is a private company affiliated with Junro Ito, Seven & i’s vice president and representative director. Ito is also the son of Masatoshi Ito, founder of Seven & i’s Ito-Yokado supermarket chain. The buyout price was not disclosed, although Bloomberg reported it may be around $58…