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Oonagh Reidy

Excessive Visa Surcharges Banned

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Retailers banned from surcharging customers who pay with Visa card, in-store and online from today.

The change applies to both Visa credit or debit card.

AMEX, MasterCard, Diners and JCB have not yet made any decision to participate in the surcharge limiting rules.

The new rules were developed following a review of card surcharging practices by the Reserve Bank, and is aimed at better protecting consumers from excessive surcharging and provide more transparency for consumers.

“Retailers will need to review their surcharging practices to make sure their surcharges are not excessive and that they are clearly disclosed upfront to customers, both in-store and online,” said Visa’s Country Manager for Australia, Vipin Kalra.

CN contacted several Aussie retailers about the changes and are awaiting a reply.

But its not just retailers – taxis, ticket outlets and airlines in particular charge massive credit card fees – Virgin Airlines for instance charges $7.00 on each credit card transaction.

Visa’s new rules follow regulatory changes announced by the RBA last year, which allow card schemes to limit surcharges to the “reasonable cost of acceptance” – or how much it costs retailers to accept a card payment.

Stores will have to justify any surcharges they pass on to consumers, whichcan be made up by the Merchant Service Fee (MSF), terminal line cost, credit card terminal rental, annual acceptance fee and employee training.

“This is good news for consumers and should mean the practice is more transparent,” said Kalra.

The majority of surcharges on Visa cards should be close to the merchant service fee charged to the merchant by their bank, which is on average is 0.85 percent.

“Visa is a lower-cost card, so we would expect retailers to take that into consideration in their surcharging rates,” he said. The card giant has developed a program to help retailers to comply with the new rules.

This includes a special calculator, available through the retailers’ banks, to assist retailers determine their “reasonable cost of acceptance” as defined by the RBA.

Visa said it will work with financial institutions to monitor retailer compliance and retailers found to be surcharging excessively will be notified by their bank of their non-compliance.

 

“It will take a little time for retailers to review the new rules and implement them. We will monitor the situation closely to see what effect the changes have on surcharging levels,” he said.

Card fees sometimes are as high as 3% retailers cannot take the service fee of the highest cost scheme and apply that charge across Visa, so if the MSF for AMEX is 2.5% and for Visa is 1%, they must charge a different surcharge for the two transaction types

If consumers suspect a retailer is charging an unreasonable surcharge, you can email Visa at surchargingfeedback@visa.com

WA Opens To Sunday Trading

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We’re open: its been a long running battle but Western Australia has finally opened up to Sunday selling.
The change to trading laws in the mining state allows all stores in Western Australia trade on Sunday from 11am-5pm.

The move will see it become the biggest shopping day of the week, WA’s premier predicted.

Major retailers are likely to coin it after the removal of trading laws that banned large stores like Coles, Woolies and Harvey Norman, from opening on Sunday.

Harvey Norman previously engaged in a legal battle with the state government over the trading laws.

Myer boss Bernie Brookes says his company would speed up refurbishment of stores in the mining boom state in light of the change.

 “There is no doubt that West Australians are voting with their feet,” WA premier Colin Barnett said at the first day of the new trading hours on Sunday last.

And very quickly Sunday shopping will become the main shopping day of the week, if not already.”

He also predicted electrical items would be a big winner.

“Particularly in areas like fashion or electrical items and furniture, that’s an opportunity to take your time and look at separate outlets, for husbands and wives to go out together.”

Retail Up 1%, Dept Stores Big Winner

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Australian retail showing slight recovery as turnover rose 1% in June


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This follows a rise of 0.8% in May 2012, the ABS said today.

A majority of industries contributed to the rise with department stores (3.4%) and food retail (0.9%) the main drivers of growth.

Turnover also rose in ‘Other retailing’ which includes CE and technology sellers (1.4%), Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food (1.0%) – the largest contributor to growth – and clothing, footwear and accessory retailing (1.8%).

The only sector to fall was household goods retailing (-0.2%).

Turnover rose in all states in June but New South Wales was the biggest contributor to the growth (1%) and is on its fourth consecutive monthly rise.

Retail turnover also rose in Queensland (1.2%), Victoria (0.9%), Western Australia (1.0%), South Australia (0.7%), Northern Territory (2.8%), Tasmania (1.0%) and the Australian Capital Territory (0.9%).

However, over the longer term, mining state Western Australia is still the strongest performing state (up 0.8% in trend terms), the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed.

The trend estimate for Australian retail turnover rose 0.5% in June and follows a similar rise of 0.5% in April and March 2012.

Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the monthly boost in retail trade figures today could be attributed to consumers shopping for the colder weather and was welcome news for retailers.

The rise in consumer spending in particular at department stores in June could be attributed to the beginning of midyear sales, ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said.

 

“We are encouraged by these figures and hope this is the start of a longer growth trend,” he added, but warned “we are still some way off the halcyon days of strong consistent growth.”

“It’s likely the Government’s cash stimulus and interest rate cuts had an impact on real disposable income however it is too early to assess the impact of the carbon tax as cost impacts are still to be fully felt” Zimmerman said.

However, there is still weakness in household goods while growth in department stores, clothing and footwear year on year sales are well overdue, he added.

No Joke! Google Racing Speeds Off

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Look out Lewis Hamilton, your days are numbered. Or maybe not.
Google played the ultimate April Fools prank yesterday when it pronounced the establishment of ‘Google Racing’ with NASCAR, which will self drive racing cars electronically.

Google Racing, the “groundbreaking” partnership with NASCAR aims to develop “self-driving vehicles [which] compete in the world of stock car racing”, meaning Michael Schumacher, Mark Webber and Co would soon be out of a job.

Or at least have some very serious electronic competition.


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“We think the most important thing computers can do in the next decade is to drive cars… the most important thing Google Racing can do in the next decade is drive them, if possible, more quickly than anyone else,” pranksters Google wrote on its blog yesterday.

The project is still in its “infancy,” wrote Google Sergey Brin, Co-founder.

“We’re surer than ever that self-driving cars are one of them, capable of changing the world in all kinds of truly important ways, like reducing traffic and accidents by driving more efficiently, making correct split-second decisions and never shifting their focus off the road to check a map, text a friend, apply rear-view mirror mascara.”

 

But although it appears Google are fooling around, the project is likely to soon be a reality with the tech whizzes already having developed the self driving car, which they say “makes driving safer, more enjoyable and more efficient.” and released a new demo video just last week of blind man Steve Mahan behind the wheel.

“There’s much left to design and test, but we have now safely completed more than 200,000 miles of computer-led driving, gathering great experiences and an overwhelming number of enthusiastic supporters,” they blogged. 

Watch Out Bose: Apple HDTV Blasts Out 2012

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iPad creator is said to be turning its attention to TVs in a serious way. Steve Jobs Cupertino techies will release 3 X HDTV models next year, Trip Chowdhry from Global Equities Research believes.


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In a note to investors on Sunday, Chowdhry said he based his theory on information gathered from recent Worldwide developer events, and is the “converged view” among most in that industry, reports Apple Insider. 

 The new TV concept is said to be modeled on the Bose VideoWave 46-inch LCD HDTV and Apple’s display will come in three sizes and price points, Chowdhry says. The HDTV will be 2 inches thick and boast a whopping 16 speaker system. 
Oh and just a single cable, outdoing the Bose version (which has three), but using similar technology. 
The device will “probably” hit March next year, the analyst predicts.
And this isn’t the first time rumours of Apple’s TV plans have surfaced. 
Last week, we reported on the likelihood of an Apple developing a 55″ OLED TV and chasing movie content, to boot. 
 The new 55″ LG OLED panel, is tipped to be manufactured by LG display, capable of delivering music, video and TV shows over an IP network. 
 

The giant, who is trying to cut global deals with Hollywood movie studios, has included Australia in a list of countries that the it wants rights to first run movies for.

What A Turn Off! Google TVs Returned By Users

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Disgruntled Google TV users are returning sets in droves. Logitech International, which makes hardware running Google TV technology including Revue set-top box andl keyboard, recently announced revenue losses in the category, saying more units were returned than sold.


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This was “partly due to the fact that Google TV has not yet fully delivered to its own promises,” Logitech Chairman Guerrino De Luca, said in a conference call Thursday.

Logitech itself had promised “there’s no telling what your TV will be able to do” with its hardware running Google. 

Revue has a keyboard with integrated touch and directional pad, an HDMI cable and IR blaster. 

He also admitted his company has misjudged the smart TV market. It is now to slash the price of Reuve by 60% – from US$249 to just US$99. It was originally launched with an RRP of US $299.

“We launched Revue with the expectation that it would generate significant sales growth in spite of a relatively high price point and the newness of both the smart TV category and the underlying platform,” De Luca lamented. 

Sony were also said to be unhappy with the performance of its TVs running on Google Android, first launched in the US last September. 

However, despite the dissing, Google say Logitech’s complaints wouldn’t stop the giant chasing its TV dreams.

“It’s still early days for smart TVs and we’re investing to continue to bring innovation and progress for our partners and users,” a spokesperson said. 

The Android creators are also said to be working on a second version of Google TV, which will run You Tube movies and a stash of apps, to be delivered later this year.

What Christmas? December Retail Down: ABS

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December retail down slightly, according to newly released ABS figures.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) latest figures show retail turnover fell 0.2 per cent in December, despite the widely expected Christmas spending boom.

The drop was identical to the previous month’s fall. The trend estimate for retail turnover also fell 0.1 per cent last month, according the the ABS. However, compared to 2011, sales rose 2.3%.

Online retail sales fell slightly last month, according to NAB Index released this week, although were up 23% y-o-y.

The largest contributor to the fall was ‘Other’ retailing fell -2.8 per cent, followed by cafes, food services (-1.1 per cent) and food retailing. 

However, there were rises in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (+2.1%), household goods which includes consumer electronics (+0.8%), and department stores (+0.8). Electrical and electronic goods retailing rose 0.2%. 

Over the longer term, ‘Other’ retailing and household goods were the weakest performing industries in trend terms, down 0.5 and 0.4 per cent respectively.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said the figures would be disappointing to retailers who were hoping for some love from shoppers for the festive season and showed consumers were under too much pressure with tax hikes, increases in utility bills and private health insurance.

“Compared to December 2011 overall retail growth sat at 2.3 percent for December 2012, which is well below the rate of inflation. It was clear in the lead up to Christmas household budgets were stretched to the limit,” he said. 

NSW retailers bore the brunt of the fall in spending down 0.7%, followed by Victoria (-0.2 per cent), Western Australia (-0.3 per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.8 per cent).

Retail turnover in Tasmania (+2%), the Northern Territory (+0.7) and South Australia (+0.1), all rose.

Malware Turns 0.5 M Telstra Users To ‘Zombies’?

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They will if malware threat becomes a reality.


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That’s according to Telstra Internet and broadband domain boss, Barrie Hall, who revealed recent tests to prevent botnets on BigPond network could prevent a mass number being infected with malware, which could turn their PCs into a zombie army.

The tests, which were successful, involved using Domain Name System poisoning, often used by cyber criminals, and Nominum Network Protection System (NPS) to detect malware amongst its customer network, Hall told Internet Industry Association’s (IIA) iCode Forum yesterday, reports CIO.

Telstra’s tests used Nominum systems to get a hold of domain names usually used by botnets to communicate with their mother ships. Hall and his team tested 1 million BigPond IP addresses and found 5.4% (or 54,000) had signs of being infected by a botnet, which is a group of infected or compromised PCs.

This means, overall, up to half a million Telstra broadband customers could “potentially” be infected with malicious software, he said. The tests excluded mobile broadband services.

Across Australia generally, the botnet infection rate is around 10% for fixed line and is lower, 5%, for wireless services.

That means one in ten of us have some infection or malware on our PCs. Scary.

But this seemingly alarming number is low compared to some other countries, including the US where it can reach 10% infection rate and Thailand which can hit an astonishing 40%.

So why does Australia have such a low botnet rate compared our friends abroad?

Most of our internet is accessed via gateways and routers, which often has a level of inbuilt level of protection compared to older systems, Hall said.

 

However, some might say using DSN poisoning in tests is not a great idea, he admits “a lot of my colleagues would say that mucking with DNS is evil.”

“We’re at war,” with these malicious attacks and the harm that could result, Hall warned.

However, making consumers aware of the problem of malware and what to do about it is also vital, the iCode forum also heard.

This comes as Australian Media and Communication Authority (ACMA) that between 7,000-7,500 internet users in Oz are either infected with DNSChanger or  continue to use the rogue settings.

Read: Malware Alert! ‘Thousands’ Face Web Blackout

The Authority also warns that D-day is coming for computers infected with the DNSChanger malware, which changes a user’s Domain Name System (DNS) settings, enabling cybercriminals to direct unsuspecting web users to fraudulent websites and interfere with their web browsing.

Computers that remain infected after 9 July will have” severely crippled internet access”, so Aussies should check their PC’s now, ACMA said in a statement.

You should also check that computer’s settings for accessing the internet are not the ‘rogue’ settings installed by DNSChanger.

Even if you have removed DNSChanger malware, it is possible your computer is still using rogue settings.

Check here if your PC is infected.

Unprepared: How Dicks Sale Went (Horribly) Wrong

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You don’t plan to fail but you can fail to plan.


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That’s the lesson to be gained out of Dick Smith’s disastrous gaming sale, which kicked off on Monday last and left thousands of consumers sour faced-after the mammoth sale went horribly wrong.

Some were even branding the $7m clearance sale a “scam” after Dick’s website crashed with enthusiastic consumers wishing to get their hands on massive bargains including Sony’s PSP for $40 and Assassins Creed 2 for just $5, while others arrived instore to find out the sale goods were not even in stock.

A document leaked online which listed everything – including consoles, gaming titles that were to go on sale was part of the problem, a ‘mystery’ DS employee told Gizmodo.

Read: Scorned Customers Lash Out Over Dick Smith’s $7M Sale ‘Scam

The leaked list didn’t mean every item would be available in every store, the staffer added.

“To us staff, we can translate that document immediately to see what’s in stock and what isn’t, whereas anyone else would have looked at it and thought ‘EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!”

The leaked item list forced the retailer to fast forward the sale to April 02 – a full ten days before it was actually scheduled to take place on the 12th.

“We were meant to be given a week to price all the games and have it ready for sale come April 12th but due to the leak the entire thing was bumped up, giving us staff very little time to prepare for it,” the employee revealed.

And was it a way for Dick to flog gaming stock due to discontinuation of its gaming department?

No it was “just to clear out old gaming stock,” the mystery employee insists.

“Dick Smith is certainly continuing to sell games because no new games were put on sale and our system is still being actively stocked. I’d wager they’re trying to liquidate old stock as Woolworths do want to sell the business off.”

 

Dick Smith’s General Manger blamed “the unforseen popularity of Dick Smith gaming sale”  for customers leaving the store empty handed.

“We understand a certain amount of misinformation was published online last week that led some customers to believe certain products were on sale when they were not or they were a different discount.”

Orange IT Shuts Stores, JB Hi-Fi Bites

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Orange IT appears to have closed retail stores as competition from JB HiFi and big retailers bite

AS one retailer closes….

As one electronics retailer closes…The Orange IT store in North Sydney closed its doors several weeks ago just JB HiFi opened a new store a few doors away in Walker St earlier this month. 

Inside the North Sydney Store all stock has been cleared, although there is no closing sign on the door. It appears the price friendly electronics retailer is shutting all its stores in Sydney, including Clarence St and Haymarket in Sydney CDB, according to IT consumers on Whirlpool.

The company could not be contacted for comment and is not answering calls on the phone numbers listed on its website and Facebook page, and appears to have gone underground.

The company has an address listed as T9 and T15, Level 1, 730 George St Sydney.

Orange IT has not updated its Facebook page since November, even though customers are contacting them with complaints and queries about products purchased.

Another opens….Jb Hi-Fi North Sydney

Whirlpool user ‘rickyt’ wrote on January 25: “Word to the wise, we normally use Orange IT on Clarence St in Sydney to sort out our PC’s in the office. Today they have advised that they cant deliver our order and they are closing… not sure if this is all stores but I suspect it is.”

The company, which sells everything from HP notebooks to PC accessories like Logitech speakers, Toshiba storage devices and Targus laptop bags, appears to be still selling online, however.

 

Orange IT’s eBay store is still alive and kicking and has listed products dated as recent as 20 February. They’re even offering free delivery on most goods.

Orange IT customers include “corporates, small business, government, students” according to its website.

“I like Orange IT however recently they haven’t had much in stock. It’s sad if the whole chain closed down,” another consumer wrote on the forum.