AP+ CEO Lynn Kraus
Australia’s leading payments providers are mostly backing the proposal to establish an indigenous Voice to Parliament, with Australian Payments Plus and Visa advancing the strongest support.
While the country’s largest banks – except for Macquarie Bank – have each announced explicit policies in support of constitutional change, leading providers in the payments industry have taken more nuanced positions that appear to lend implicit support for the “Yes” campaign.
Australian Payments Plus, the owner of Eftpos, BPay and the New Payments Platform, says its senior executive team and members of its board are “strong supporters” of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
“AP+ is committed to supported reconciliation,” said chief executive, Lynn Kraus.
“We recently celebrated our first birthday as an organisation and have submitted the first draft of our reconciliation action plan.
“Personally, I’m a strong supporter of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, as is the chair of our board and the AP+ executive leadership team.
“The team and I also believe in a Voice to Parliament for Indigenous people.
“We are working on how we best provide information and education for our people on the Voice and on how we deliver the initiatives in our first reconciliation action plan.”
The Australian arm of global payments giant Visa, which also recently embarked on a reconciliation program with indigenous communities, saying it has a responsibility to “help empower” First Nations peoples.
Visa has long stood for trust, security, acceptance and inclusion,” a Visa spokesperson said.
“ We believe it is our responsibility to help empower the communities in which we operate, which is why we have begun our journey to actively support reconciliation in Australia through the initiatives we have communicated in our Reconciliation Action Plan and by supporting our team members to make an informed decision as they have their say in a referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution through an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.”
Charge card issuer American Express also lent tacit support to the Voice campaign, but stopped short of recommending a “Yes” vote on the referendum.
“American Express Australia is committed to advancing national reconciliation and the role we play in helping to address some of the challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” an AMEX spokesperson said.
“We set out those principles in our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, that can be found on our website.
“Regarding the Indigenous Voice, we welcome the opportunity for all Australians to have their say on this important matter.”
Mastercard’s Australian subsidiary did not respond to a request for comment from Banking Day.