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The Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet) and Australian Payments Plus (AP+) have taken the first steps in bringing the payments industry together to determine the future of account-to-account (A2A) payments in the country.
AP+ is an industry body formed from the merger of BPAY, eftpos and NPP Australia. Its shareholders are major banks, fintechs and large retailers, and it aims to drive innovation and create opportunities in the payments sector.
AusPayNet is the self-regulatory body set up by the Australian payments industry to improve the safety, reliability, equity, convenience and efficiency of the country’s payments systems.
As covered by Vixio, in May 2025, the two organisations were directed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to coordinate industry efforts on the future of Australia’s A2A payments system.
The consultation is the first step in this process and seeks input from stakeholders on a series of key issues, including the objectives that should guide the development of an industry vision for A2A payments, their experience of the existing A2A arrangements and their expectations of a future A2A payments system.
“This consultation is an important step forward in designing a modern account-to-account payments ecosystem that meets the needs of its users well into the future,” said AusPayNet CEO Andy White.
“It is timely to gather feedback from the widest possible range of stakeholders and users to ensure that account-to-account payments continue to contribute to the vibrancy, productivity and resilience of Australia’s digital economy.”
AP+ CEO Lynn Kraus echoed these sentiments, adding that, “The insights and feedback we gather will inform the industry’s strategic approach to account-to-account payments and ensure we’re addressing the priorities and needs of all stakeholders.”
Alongside the consultation on the future of A2A payments, AP+ is running a consultation on the future capability of the New Payments Platform (NPP), Australia’s fast payments infrastructure.
It is seeking input on the features and enhancements necessary to ensure the NPP functions efficiently as a real-time payments system.
Both consultations have a deadline of July 31, 2025.
Building a vision for A2A
The A2A consultation and the overall project have the support of both the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Treasury.
Developing a clear vision for the country’s A2A payments system that takes into account the interests of the public and the needs of business is aligned with the two organisations’ goals.
Indeed, the consultation asks for stakeholders’ views on a series of end-user objectives developed by the RBA and the Treasury:
- Accessibility: the payments system provides universal access to end users to make and receive payments, providing end users with choice and is inclusive of all end-user needs.
- Capability: the payments system performs all required functions (including authentication and verification of payee, initiation, transmission of payment instructions and related data, clearing and settlement, notification of payment outcome and returns). It caters to all end-user needs and use cases including single or bulk credit transfers and direct debit and delivers a relatively frictionless and timely experience.
- Cost-effectiveness: the charges and costs incurred by end users are transparent, reasonable and affordable.
- Reliability: the payments system is resilient with high availability to ensure the continuous execution of core payment functions and services, and service reliability. Disruptions to service continuity are minimised through robust contingency (back-up) and recoverability arrangements.
- Safety: the payments system promotes the safety and security of end users including the protection of data and funds in transit, and has measures and capabilities to help prevent fraud and scam activity.
In acknowledging the launch of the consultation, the RBA noted that developing a vision for the A2A payments system is a key recommendation of its recent Risk Assessment on the proposed decommissioning of the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS), Australia’s batch-based A2A system.
This decommissioning was mooted by the industry in 2023, with 2030 as the suggested deadline, provided all BECS payments had been successfully migrated to safe and reliable alternative payments systems.
As the risk assessment notes, the NPP is a fast payment system that processes payments individually in real time on a 24/7 basis.
Most jurisdictions operate both a batch-based and a fast payments system, so the RBA comments in the document that by closing its batch-based A2A system and using only its fast payments system to process most A2A payments, Australia would be taking “a unique step.”
The central bank is therefore keen to see a practical plan for the future of Australian A2A payments that ensures that closing BECS would not overload the NPP and lead to poor outcomes for end users.
Payments modernisation
Offering safe and reliable A2A payments is a key strand of payments modernisation, with consumers increasingly expecting fast and efficient services and less tolerant of traditional processing time frames.
In seeking to formulate a plan for its A2A system, Australia is following the example of jurisdictions such as the UK and the EU, where regulatory work through the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and via the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) has had similar goals.
Australia’s previous attempts at modernising its payments system have seen mixed success, with the uptake of open banking in particular having been limited so far.
Although the availability of A2A payments predates open banking, the use of open banking technology and infrastructure (via APIs) can make such payments more efficient, secure and accessible – and often more cost effective.
As covered by Vixio, the government attempted to “reset” the process in November 2024 by updating the Consumer Data Right (CDR), the legal framework that underpins open banking in the country, to streamline the consent process.
It may be that Australian consumers take time to adapt to the use of open banking, in which case a clear framework for providing A2A payments via the NPP is all the more vital.
The next step in AusPayNet and AP+’s plan is to present the findings of the consultation in roundtable discussions during August 2025, followed by a further consultation phase later in the year.
