Limits eased on Tyro

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has eased the tier one capital requirements for Moneyswitch Ltd, the Eftpos and card payments acquiring company that began trading as Tyro Payments in 2007.

"APRA has migrated us to a standard regime for ADIs in Australia," said Jost Stollman, executive director and CEO of Tyro Payments.

"We are treated by APRA now like any other deposit taking institution.

"We are a grown-up institution now, if you like to put it that way."

Previously APRA had imposed a condition that MoneySwitch hold at least $5 million in reserve.

Tyro is still shying away from higher risk merchants. Tyro considers online merchants, travel providers, camera, furniture and software vendors, dating and escort services and theatre/ticket agencies, among others, as too high risk.

"If we went with these higher risk merchants there might be an appetite from the schemes and the prudential regulator to see capital underlying this higher risk."

Tyro is now processing more than half of all Medicare Easyclaim transactions and has recently signed up electronics chain Jaycar.

"We are in a good mood at the moment; we had a successful capital raising in December and we think we are now within sight of break-even point," Stollman said.