The Retail Payment System Bill introduces a new regime to ensure that the retail payment system—that is, the way we pay for goods and services—delivers long-term benefits to consumers and to small businesses or merchants. It does this in three ways. Firstly, it enables the Commerce Commission to regulate participants in designated retail payment networks. Secondly, to reduce merchant service fees sooner rather than later, it sets an initial pricing standard for the MasterCard and Visa credit and debit networks, and that standard targets interchange fees, which are the larger part of merchant service fees, making it less costly for retailers when accepting payments. Thirdly, it enables the Commerce Commission to issue merchant surcharging standards to limit excessive surcharging, and the bill enables the commission to monitor, investigate, and enforce the rules. This bill fulfils a Government commitment—indeed, a Labour manifesto promise—to regulate merchant service fees charged to retailers and bring them in line with the other comparable economies that we look to. 