SYDNEY: The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is poised to regulate new payments technologies, including Facebook’s Libra coin.
Attending the Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology on Friday, RBA head of payments policy Tony Richards told a Canberra select committee on financial technology that payment systems introduced by the likes of Apple and Google – not to mention Facebook – “raise the question of whether or not a domestic regulator has sufficient influence over what’s happening in our market when large global players are involved”.
Richards said the RBA’s preparation is being tested by the possible introduction of Facebook’s Libra project in Australia, saying the central bank will be up to the task if it ever gets to that stage.
“We’re getting a test of this currently with the proposal via Facebook for its new Libra coin, but that’s a problem I think we can solve,” he said.
“The international community of regulatory and central banks are talking to each other on how we would regulate Libra if – and when – it’s launched.”
