Michele Bullock has hit out at suggestions from Australia's major banks that the plan to remove debit and credit card surcharges could lead to less investment in scam protection.

Australian Banking Association chief executive Simon Birmingham last week said the plan to remove surcharging, while also lowering interchange rates, would force banks to spend less on guarding their customers from fraud.

"One of our key concerns with the Reserve Bank's proposals is that it will undermine the capacity to keep safe and secure the very thing that everyday Australians rely upon," he told the Australian Financial Review's Cyber Summit last Tuesday.

RBA Governor Bullock said she was "somewhat surprised" to hear those comments when she was asked about them by federal parliament's economic

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