INTHEBLACK June 2026 - Magazine - Page 8
FAST FOCUS
Number crunch
Words Susan Muldowney
52%
of CEOs in New Zealand say their greatest concern is not transforming
fast enough to keep up with tech/AI. This was also the biggest worry
for their global peers.
Source: PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey
A$1.6b
The expected annual saving for Australian consumers when the ban
on surcharges on debit, prepaid and credit card payments is introduced
by the Reserve Bank of Australia on 1 October 2026. Businesses are
also expected to save A$200 million in surcharge fees annually.
Source: Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging: Conclusions paper, RBA
8 INTHEBLACK June 2026
LATE PAYMENT PAIN
FOR SMES
From 1 July 2026, Australian
employers will be required
to pay superannuation at the same
time as wages. However, a survey
from Xero shows that late payments
from customers are the biggest
threat to Payday Super compliance
for small businesses.
The survey indicates that Australian
small businesses lost an average
of A$15,257 over the last financial
year due to late payments from
customers. While the vast majority
are in favour of Payday Super as
a positive change for employees,
almost 90 per cent note that paying
super more frequently will put
pressure on their cash flow.
More than half of the 500 survey
respondents cite customer payments
as their biggest challenge to managing
ongoing cash flow, closely followed by
rising cost pressures, and 31 per cent
expect to have to tap into their
personal savings to meet compliance
obligations. Close to 40 per cent also
plan to delay paying themselves
to manage the strain.
Read the survey
