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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted interim authorisation to Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet) and Australian Payments Plus (AP+) to coordinate industry efforts on the future of account-to-account (A2A) payments.
The decision enables AusPayNet, AP+, and other industry stakeholders, including the 87 banks and fintechs involved in the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) and members of the New Payments Platform (NPP), to begin preparatory work toward a unified industry vision for A2A payments.
This marks a key step in modernising the country’s core payments infrastructure, and echoes similar initiatives in jurisdictions such as the UK and EU, where regulatory work through the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and via the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) has had similar goals.
AP+, formed from the merger of BPAY, eftpos, and NPP Australia, will play a central role in shaping the vision for the next generation of A2A payments.
Its shareholders are major banks, fintechs and large retailers, and include the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australian Bank, PayPal, Coles, and Woolworths.
Ensuring the future of A2A payments
The interim authorisation responds to concerns raised by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) about risks associated with the decommissioning of BECS, the country’s legacy A2A infrastructure.
Andy White, CEO of AusPayNet emphasised that, “determining a vision for the future state of account-to-account payments is critical in ensuring that Australia’s economy continues to benefit from a modern and resilient payments system”.
“Interim authorisation will enable us to more effectively engage with our members, and other stakeholders, including end-users, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Commonwealth Treasury,” he said.
The goal is to facilitate engagement with key stakeholders such as the RBA and the Treasury, gather information and establish planning frameworks to guide the transition.
The initial coordination will support a series of strategic roundtables planned for the second half of 2025, which will bring together financial institutions, payments providers, government representatives and end-user groups.
These sessions will aim to develop a high-level roadmap for migrating away from BECS to more modern alternatives such as the NPP, which has the capability to offer real-time, data-rich and interoperable payments.
BECS has underpinned essential payments such as salaries, pensions and bill payments for decades, but lacks features that are now considered critical, such as real-time settlement, payee confirmation and ISO 20022 messaging.
In November 2023, AusPayNet set a target of June 2030 for BECS’ retirement, triggering an industry-wide effort to plan for its replacement.
The work during this interim phase will focus on establishing processes, sharing information and preparing for broader engagement. Subject to the ACCC’s final determination, the roundtables will define deliverables and milestones, with a focus on prioritisation and sequencing.
“With interim authorisation now in place, we can drive the industry coordination that the RBA has called for. It's an important step in developing a shared vision for the future of account-to-account payments,” said Lynn Kraus, CEO of AP+.
“As an industry we have a unique opportunity to modernise Australia’s payments system to support a more digitally enabled economy and enable greater competition, innovation and productivity. This requires strong coordination between AP+, AusPayNet, the RBA, Treasury and the broader industry,” she added.
