Fun fact of the day: September was the second month in a row when electric vehicle sales outnumbered petrol vehicle sales.

Keen observers were looking to see if the August milestone - the first month on record in Australia that EVs led the way - would repeat itself, and sure enough, the trend has continued. One in four cars purchased that month was electric, with experts noting that rapidly rising fuel prices mean some are pumping the brakes on a planned purchase of a petrol-guzzler.

The quote: “We're seeing AI embedded into malicious software, AI systems becoming targets in their own right, and the first real-world cases of attacks run largely by AI agents.”
Mark Anderson, National Security Officer for Microsoft Australia & New Zealand, as he released the 2026 Microsoft Digital Defense Report.

The stat: $7.1 billion. The amount Australian data centre operator Firmus aims to raise when it lists on the ASX, according to Reuters. This will give Firmus an equity valuation of $30.6 billion. It will be the second-largest IPO in Australian history, behind Telstra in 1997.

The graph:

The ASX 200 tracks the 200 largest companies listed on the Australian share market. In the past month, the ASX 200 has fallen by 3.1%. This is partly due to the Reserve Bank of Australia raising interest rates to their highest level in 15 years, the Middle East conflict keeping oil and energy prices high, and rising government borrowing costs.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised the cash rate to 4.60%, the highest rate in nearly 15 years. The RBA lifts rates to cool spending and bring inflation back to its 2–3% target.

The RBA pointed to three things keeping prices high: rising energy costs from the Middle East conflict, an economy that is running too hot and the global AI boom.

AI being on that list might come as a surprise to you. After all, you’re probably still using the free version of ChatGPT or another AI tool. And if you do pay for one, the cost of your subscription probably hasn’t changed.

So, how exactly is AI impacting inflation?

When the RBA says AI-related spending is one of the causes driving up inflation, it doesn’t mean subscriptions to AI models like ChatGPT or Claude are becoming more expensive.

Instead, it’s talking about the technology required to power these AI tools becoming more expensive. AI usage has increased dramatically since ChatGPT was introduced in 2022, and the high technological and infrastructure spending (specifically on data centres) to keep up with the demand has been driving up costs.

Data centres have been popping up across Australia at a record rate. According to RBA research, companies building data centres in Australia have raised at least $35 billion so far this year – 46% more than the $24 billion they raised last year. The average annual funding between 2020 and 2024 was $4.6 billion.

To build a data centre, you need tradies, electricians and materials. According to RBA Governor Michele Bullock, the demand for those is putting pressure on the economy.

“Construction is an area we know is under pressure,” she said. “That’s where demand is actually above supply.”

If you’re wondering how this impacts inflation, think about a new apartment building competing with a new data centre for the same resources, like tradies and materials. This creates a bidding war, where the side offering more money eventually wins out.

To run AI tools, data centres need huge amounts of computing hardware, including graphics and memory chips. This makes the computing hardware even scarcer and pricier for anyone else who needs it.

(Side note: I built my own computer in June of last year, and the memory cost me $169. I checked the price again a few months ago, and the exact same memory now costs more than $700!)

This is reflected in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) inflation data. In its recent report, inflation in the games, toys and hobbies category is 12.7%. The ABS said “price increases in memory and storage components [are] being passed on to consumers.”

Anecdotally, you may have noticed new phones getting more expensive. Apple, Samsung and Google have all pointed to the rising cost of memory chips as a reason for their higher prices.

Reporting by Adam Wan.

You may have heard about the changes to card surcharges last week (we wrote about it in last week’s edition!) But you might not have heard about how the new system has also caused changes to credit cards – and specifically, the points earned on credit cards.

Credit card issuers have reduced rewards and offerings, and increased annual fees and interest rates. Most of the changes have already been implemented, although some banks are rolling them out over the coming months.

So, what happened?

As of last week, the RBA has lowered the cap on interchange fees.

What are interchange fees? Well, every time you tap your card, your bank takes a small cut from the shop. There is a cap on how much your bank can charge in these fees. From 1 October, that cap has been lowered. This will reduce costs for businesses, but will also reduce revenue for banks.

This is separate to the RBA’s ban on card surcharges, which started on the same day. How does the change to interchange fees impact credit cards?

According to the RBA, credit card issuers (who are mostly banks) use interchange fees to fund rewards programs like Qantas or Velocity frequent flyer points. Lowering the cap reduces the revenue of these issuers, which has led to them reducing credit card rewards and increasing annual fees.

Here’s a breakdown of the changes made by the big four banks.

Across its rewards cards, Westpac has increased the interest rate on purchases from 20.99% to 23.99%. This is the interest you pay if your credit card balance isn’t paid off in full.

The annual fees on Westpac’s rewards credit cards have increased by between $50 and $80. The number of points required to redeem certain rewards (gift cards, cashback, annual fee rebate) has also increased.

Many complimentary insurance benefits have been reduced or removed. For example, overseas emergency assistance cover was previously unlimited but is now capped at $20 million.

CommBank has closed the CommBank Awards program and introduced CommBank Yello points. The new program ties points to how much banking customers do with CommBank. While customers with many CommBank products could earn more points compared to the old program, those with only a few products will likely earn less.

From 1 January 2027, credit card fee waivers will be replaced by travel and dining credits, which were introduced from 29 September. A waiver is when the bank doesn’t charge you a fee if you meet certain conditions, such as spending a set amount each month.

All complimentary insurance benefits have been removed from their low fee cards.

Editorial note: CommBank and TDA have a commercial partnership, but that has had no impact on the editorial direction of this piece.

Across most cards, NAB has increased the interest rate on purchases by 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points. This is the interest you pay if your credit card balance isn’t paid off in full.

The number of points earned per dollar spent has decreased for most of its rewards cards. Cards now have lower spend thresholds before the ability to earn points reduces further. For example, the NAB Qantas Rewards Signature card previously earned 1 Qantas Point per dollar on the first $5,000 spent each month. Now, the card earns 0.75 Qantas Points per dollar on the first $3,000.

The Rewards Travel Card fee is now cheaper (on an annual basis) but can no longer be waived. Previously, customers who spent $5,000 or more in a month didn’t need to pay the monthly fee.

Across all cards (except for the Low Rate card), ANZ has increased the interest rate on purchases from 20.99% to 22.49%. This is the interest you pay if your credit card balance isn’t paid off in full.

From 28 October, points will only be earned on up to $25,000 or $50,000 of spending per statement period, depending on the card. Previously, there was no cap.

The rewards cards will no longer include international and domestic travel insurance, and the frequent flyer cards will have insurance limits cut by up to two-thirds.

Reporting by Adam Wan.

Career standstill? There's a way to get ahead without putting life on hold.

The University of Newcastle's MBA program lets you study online, face-to-face, or a bit of both, depending on your professional and personal situation. It's a degree that gives you the leadership, strategy and decision-making skills to prepare you for levelling up in your career, all while building a network of like-minded professionals.

And, once again, you don't have to relocate to do it. You just have to enrol.

The man known as the Tinder Swindler is launching a dating app. Oh, and it's meant to protect women from scammers.

In case you're not familiar, Simon Leviev was accused of conning women out of millions in the 2022 Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler. He has since been jailed in Israel and Finland for fraud.

He told the UK’s ITV news that he's a changed man, and that his past will help his app keep scammers out. It hasn't launched yet and it is unclear whether Apple or Google will allow it on their app stores.