AusPayNet begins account-to-account payments consultation
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The news: Industry regulatory body Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet) and Australian Payments Plus have begun consulting on future plans for the account-to-account payments systems ahead of the proposed decommissioning of the Bulk Electronic Clearing System.
The context: Account-to-account payment systems support payroll, superannuation, welfare, dividends, disbursements, taxes, supplier payments and direct debits, among other payments.
The consultation is seeking views on “current and future payments needs and expectations of the users” of the payments system including consumers, businesses and governments as well as payments processors, other intermediaries and regulators.
Submissions can be made until 31 July.
The Reserve Bank of Australia and Treasury have welcomed the consultation and issued a public interest framework for establishing a capable account-to-account payments system that is “cost-effective, reliable and safe”.
Reserve Bank assistant governor Brad Jones has previously flagged concerns that the payments industry had yet to reach a shared vision on desired features for account-to-account payments.
He also said the transition from the Bulk Electronic Clearing System to the New Payments Platform has become a "foundational issue".
What they said: “[The account-to-account system] is a vital part of Australia’s financial infrastructure,” Jones said in a statement that welcomed the consultation.
“This consultation provides a broad range of stakeholders the chance to provide input into how the system can be modernised to meet the opportunities and challenges of the future, in the public interest.”
