Eftpos Payments Australia chief executive Bruce Mansfield will support the continuation of the so-called combo card system, where consumers have access to the Eftpos and scheme debit payment networks on a single transaction card.Mansfield, a former head of Visa in Australia, made his first public appearance as head of EPAL, just 12 days into the job, at yesterday's Australian Retail Deposits conference in Sydney.He said that he had yet to sit down with his board and agree to a business plan but his list of priorities included building card-not-present and international transaction capabilities - features that are available on scheme debit but not Eftpos.Mansfield will also explore the scope for development of contactless payments and the introduction of chip technology.He said: "We will be looking at market demand, the likely profitability of these services and the capacity of our members to invest in the technology to enable these developments."On combo cards, he said: "It is important to give customers access to choice. Combo is an essential part of the payments system."EPAL was launched in May last year, when 14 financial institutions, service companies and big retailers announced that they would fund the creation of a company to take over commercial responsibility for management and development of the Eftpos system.The formation of EPAL was a response, in part, to criticism from the Reserve Bank that the owners of the Eftpos network were failing to develop the system to meet the competitive challenge from the more innovative and aggressive scheme debit network operated by Visa and MasterCard.Mansfield said: "As I look at our product today, it is easy to use, it is a straightforward proposition, it is efficient, fast and cheap. Transactions occur in real time and are recorded on online accounts."As I look at what I need to do, consumers want online access and security. We have to look at international access. Merchants want fast payments."