A report detailing the findings and recommendations of the RBA’s risk assessment on the transition away from the Bulk Electronic Clearing System will be published later in March, the Payments System Board said following its quarterly meeting on Thursday.
The board said it “discussed the risks associated with the Australian payments industry’s intended decommissioning of the BECS by a target date of 2030”, a topic on which the RBA has previously voiced its agitation.
“Australians rely on BECS for a wide range of critical payments including welfare, pension, salary and bill payments.
“The board endorsed a set of recommendations designed to address the significant risks and challenges identified by the RBA.
“Members agreed that the foundational next steps for industry should include:
• defining a vision for the target future state and strategic objectives for account-to-account payments in Australia, in collaboration with the Government and the RBA;
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• a comprehensive consideration of options for achieving that target future state;
• and establishing appropriate mechanisms for coordination and stakeholder engagement.”
The Australian Payments Network has its own roadmap of sorts for the BECS transition, including “continually testing the validity of the target end-date based on industry’s progress to transition BECS use cases off the BECS Framework.”
AusPayNet has convened an industry working group.
The PSB said it also discussed end-user costs for account-to-account payments in Australia, which highlighted potential impediments that end-users would face if they had to migrate away from BECS.
“Members agreed that greater pricing transparency was required from providers of these services to end-users. They expressed support for the RBA establishing a robust pricing data collection to support future policy deliberations.”
Meanwhile, in relation to the equally sensitive Review of Retail Payments Regulation, the board said it “considered the arguments for and against various policy options on merchant card payment costs and surcharging, informed by a wide range of views from stakeholder submissions.
The board is actively exploring options to promote the public interest by supporting safety, competition and efficiency in the payments system.
“Members agreed to release a consultation paper in mid-2025 that will outline the b board’s preferred policy options and seek further feedback.”