The push by government agencies to mandate real time payments in critical parts of the financial services industry is set to generate more opportunities for startups to build scale swiftly.
Zepto Payments Group is angling to win a big slice of the superannuation payments market over the next two years as Australian businesses move to comply with the ATO’s new Payday Super requirement.
From 2026 all Australian employers will be required to pay super at the same time wages and salaries are paid into their employees’ bank accounts.
While a raft of payments startups are scrambling to design digital service offers that will support local businesses to comply with the ATO rule, Zepto says it is already in market with a platform developed by Melbourne-based online software company, OZEDI.
OZEDI already provides a data messaging service that is used by companies to transmit details about superannuation payments through the government’s SuperStream protocols.
Its proprietary data messaging service is integrated into a swathe of business software platforms, including Reckon.
However, OZEDI says it has now embedded Zepto’s real time payments service into the data messaging software that it licenses to other software makers and directly to business users across Australia.
“As a result of our partnership with Zepto, OZEDI’s new SuperStream service is able to provide instant payment capability for Australian businesses paying employee super,” said OZEDI director, David Field.
“Unlike the existing BECS system, the ability to provide immediate payments brings significant cash flow advantages to companies.”
The superannuation payments market is shaping as a potentially lucrative segment for service providers that get their service offers right.
Around A$115 billion worth of compulsory super contributions were paid into the retirement savings accounts of Australians last year.
And according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, total compulsory contributions grew at a rate of 12 per cent in 2022.
Zepto will be hoping that its first to market advantage through its partnership with OZEDI will deliver it a handsome slice of the instant super transactions.