The Minister for Finance, Mathias Cormann, has announced plans to increase competition in the credit card industry by expanding access to the Visa and MasterCard systems beyond the current group of participants, which is made up of authorised deposit-taking institutions and specialist credit card institutions (a limited class of ADIs).In a media release issued yesterday, Cormann said the Government would act on recommendations made by the Payment System Board in a report on payments card access regimes in March.The PSB said conditions in the credit card market had changed in recent years. MasterCard and Visa have changed corporate structure to become listed companies rather than member associations of banks."This suggests that the schemes are likely to be more open to new types of participation," the PSB said.At the same time the emergence of new business models in payments was creating stronger interest in scheme membership.The PSB also said that the regulatory requirements for specialist credit card institutions reflected the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's focus on deposit-taking institutions and were more onerous than necessary for the risks generated in credit card markets."This means that some participants may be deterred from seeking scheme membership, while others that seek membership may face higher than warranted costs," the PSB said.There are two specialist credit card institutions: Tyro Payments and GE Capital Finance Australia.The PSB recommended the removal of the specialist credit card institution framework, which would remove the regulatory constraints on access.Cormann said the new regulations would impose responsible lending obligations on any new credit card entrants and would include safeguards such as a test of financial soundnessHe said the Government would work with the Reserve Bank, APRA and the Australian Payments Clearing Association on the new regulations, and expected to bring the changes in early next year.