CEO’s corner

Year in Review: FY25

As in previous years, the end of the financial year is a good time to review AusPayNet’s performance against our strategic goals.

Transformation

In leading the transformation of Australian payments to drive efficiency, innovation and choice:

• On cheques, Government announced the Cheques Transition Plan in November 2024, calling out AusPayNet for its leadership and coordination of the industry program of work to ensure a smooth transition. In July 2025, the ACCC granted us authorisation for this program of work. The Steering Committee and working groups have been established, have agreed on key exit milestones, and will collaborate to ensure a smooth transition.
• On BECS, we (with Australian Payments Plus (AP+)) have received the ACCC's final determination with conditons. There is a clear program of work to address the recommendations from the RBA’s risk assessment. The consultation on vision and work on the options analysis for BECS are both underway.
• On AES, a Migration Steering Committee has been established to direct the program going forward. The ACCC application for the migration has been lodged, with final determination expected in October.
• We successfully completed the ISO 20022 Migration Implementation Workstream and managed the end of domestic coexistence on time and on budget. A fourth phase of the Program has been approved, covering 2026 and 2027 maintenance cycles and transition to BAU.
• The COIN Migration was successfully completed in September 2024.

Insights

In terms of AusPayNet being the home for ecosystem collaboration and strategic insight:

• Our Economic Crime Forum is now positioned as the public-private partnership forum for the Serious and Organised Crime Coordination Committee.
• Also in the economic crime space, federal Parliament passed legislation introducing the Scams Prevention Framework in February 2025; next steps include the development of industry scam codes.
• Notable policy submissions were made to the RBA Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging, and the Scams Prevention Framework, which received strong positive feedback from our Policy Experts Group, Members and other key stakeholders.
• We continue to maintain strong relationships with Government (Commonwealth and State), RBA and other regulators. NSW and Victorian State Governments, the ATO and Services Australia now sit on our Stakeholder Advisory Council, which is focused on end-user insights and perspectives and which now also includes CHOICE.
• Our Emerging Technology Experts Group published an industry point-of-view on Artificial Intelligence in Payments in December 2024 and is currently developing an Insights Paper on agentic commerce.
• We took on leadership of the Industry Resilience Initiative (IRI) and established the IRI Steering Committee, with participation from Members, APRA and the RBA. The program has real momentum and has also led to the establishment of a new function at AusPayNet: Industry Resilience and Crisis Management.
• In the events space, our 2024 Summit was a massive success, with our biggest audience to date, while we also held our first in-person Member event in Brisbane. 

Standards

AusPayNet’s work in setting and enforcing industry standards for a safe, reliable and effective payments system also progressed in FY25:

• We launched our e-Conveyancing Payments Industry Code in March.
• Our new Portability Standard was approved by the Board in May.
• The ATM Access Standard – which replaces the ATM Access Code – was approved by the Board in June.
• On the G20’s targets for cross-border payments, AusPayNet is now a member of key global taskforces and advisory groups.

For the latest updates on our BECS and Cheques Transition Programs, visit the project pages using the links below:

• BECS Transition Program
• Cheques Transition Program 
   

AES Migration

We recently launched our new quarterly newsletter, The Quantum Leap, which will track the progress of the AES migration in Australia; the most significant security upgrade to Australian card payments in the last 25 years.

In this first edition, you can read about the scope of the program, work currently underway and what lies ahead. Future quarterly issues will provide high-level updates on the program’s progress, as well as relevant developments in Australia and globally.

Read the first edition on our website.

You can also visit the project page on our website for updates on the program.  
 

Payment reforms

Consultation on Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) Rules

In June, AusPayNet responded to AFCA's consultation on proposed amendments to its Rules to expand AFCA's jurisdiction over receiving banks in scam complaints.

AusPayNet's submission supported expanding AFCA's jurisdiction to include receiving banks and other entities involved in the scams lifecycle, noting that effective consumer protection requires all of these entities to have appropriate incentives and obligations to prevent, detect, disrupt and respond to scams. However, we expressed concerns about implementing these amendments ahead of the implementation of the recently legislated Scams Prevention Framework (SPF), and particularly the development of the SPF sectoral codes, rules and guidelines.

Of particular concern was the absence of clear guidance on how responsibility and liability would be apportioned across multiple entities involved in a scam under the amended Rules, and insufficient clarity around the scope of entities captured under the proposed changes. AusPayNet recommended that AFCA consider delaying implementation of the Rules amendments until the SPF instruments are developed, or if proceeding immediately, provide clearer definitions of which entities are captured and commit to aligning the AFCA Rules with the SPF instruments once finalised.

Portability Standard

On 1 July, the 12-month transition period commenced for entities intending to adopt AusPayNet's Standard for Payment Service Provider Porting of Merchant Payment-Related Data (Standard). The Standard details a common set of requirements for the transfer of customer payment data between providers and aims to reduce frictions that can impede competition and merchant choice. In the Payments System Board Update in June, the Board indicated their expectation that industry participants comply with the Standard by 1 July 2026. This is consistent with the RBA’s previously issued Expectations for Tokenisation of Payment Cards and Storage of PANs, aimed at improving security, efficiency and competition for online card payments.

Visit our website for further details on the Standard and accompanying guidelines.

ATM Access Standard

On 19 June, the AusPayNet Board approved the new ATM Access Standard. Intended to replace the ATM Access Code, the Standard was developed in close consultation with Members and the RBA. It will commence once the RBA’s updated ATM Access Regime takes effect. AusPayNet will coordinate the transition to ensure continuity of obligations and governance arrangements.

Cross-border payments

In his February letter to the G20, the Financial Stability Board (FSB)'s Chair, Klauss Knot, noted that as work has advanced in cross-border payments, many structural issues have become apparent. Addressing these issues will require significant additional work up to and beyond 2027.

The FSB also welcomed Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, as the new FSB Chair. The FSB will continue with its Work Programme for 2025, which includes cross-border payments. This year, the FSB will focus on improving the end-user experience, coordinating closely with the work of the Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and other partner organisations.

Inudstry taskforces

CPMI’s Payments Interoperability and Extension (PIE) Taskforce held its first meeting with its new composition of members, now including AusPayNet, on 21 May.

The FSB’s newly reconstituted Legal, Regulatory and Supervisory matters (LRS) Taskforce, which also now includes AusPayNet, had its first meeting in February. A key focus of this meeting was transparency (as distinct from regulation) of costs.

In June, the FSB LRS Taskforce met for a workshop focusing on payment fraud. AusPayNet provided an update on the state of fraud and fraud mitigation in Australia.

The FSB held its inaugural Forum on Cross-Border Payments Data in May. Forum members discussed issues emerging from data frameworks that create unnecessary friction and agreed that identifying and mapping divergences in data frameworks is a key priority. Sharing of information, supporting innovation, and engagement with the private sector are also critical to reducing unnecessary friction.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

After two public consultations, the FATF released its revised Recommendation 16, Payment Transparency, as well as the accompanying Interpretive Note in June. Recommendation 16, Payment Transparency, has the objective of preventing terrorists, perpetrators of money laundering and associated predicate offences from having unfettered access to payments or value transfers for moving their funds. As the Australian regulator, AUSTRAC will incorporate the changes into its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Rules in the coming years, with the FATF articulating by no later than the end of 2030.

Economic Crime

AusPayNet will soon release the 2025 Australian Payment Fraud Report. This report outlines recent fraud trends and how the industry (including our Economic Crime Forum) continues to respond to fraud and scams. Keep an eye out for the release of the report in the coming days.

Recently, AusPayNet participated in the G20 Anti-Scam Partnership Leaders roundtable, where leaders from G20 nations proposed elevating scams as a G20 priority for enhanced international collaboration and cross-border information sharing. Domestically, we continue supporting the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) and are preparing for SPF consultations. We have continued contributing to rule consultations for both the SenderID Register and AUSTRAC’s AML/CTF Rules.

The 16th Economic Crime Forum, to be hosted by the Queensland Police Service on 19 August, will advance two critical public-private initiatives: the Money Mule National Week of Action with confirmed AUSTRAC partnership, and the Forfeiture of Unclaimed Proceeds of Crime project.

eConveyancing Payments Industry Code

Earlier this year, AusPayNet concluded consultations with the Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC), the RBA, prospective members and other significant stakeholders on developments in the e-conveyancing ecosystem. Given these consultations and, in particular, ARNECC’s publication of the Model Operating Requirements v 7.1, our CEO determined as at 21 March that the e -Conveyancing Payments Code be stood up.

Since then, we have officially launched the membership application process, receiving strong interest from both ELNOs and financial institutions, with a number of application processes currently underway. We expect to establish the Management Committee for this new framework in the coming months, with an inaugural meeting to be held before the end of the year.

AusPayNet events

AES Open Days

Last month, we held our first AES Open Day that was well attended by our Issuers and Acquirers Community, and a second Open Day – in Melbourne – will be held this month. The Open Days have been designed to provide insights into current threats, how the rest of the world is addressing these, and an update on the progress of AusPayNet’s important work in coordinating Australia’s migration of the encryption on Australia’s card payments to AES.

Melbourne Member event

This month, we look forward to hosting our second in-person Member event at Square’s office in Melbourne. This will be a valuable opportunity for us to spend time with our Melbourne-based Members, while hearing an update on the Strategic Plan for Payments, regulatory reforms and technical payment standards.

AusPayNet Summit

We are thrilled to announce that tickets to the industry’s must attend event of the year will go on sale on this month. The AusPayNet Summit 2025 will be held at the International Convention Centre, Sydney on Tuesday, 16 December. For details, visit www.auspaynet.com.au/summit

New members

AusPayNet was pleased to welcome the following Members in the past quarter:

• Foregenix Australia Pty Ltd as an IAC Affiliate Member (effective 20 May 2025)
• Corporate Alliance Group as a BECS Tier 2 Member (effective 26 May 2025)
• Credit Union South Australia as a BECS Tier 2 Member (effective 26 May 2025)
• PayNow Technology-Finmo as a BECS Tier 2 Member (effective 26 May 2025)
• AFT AU Pty Ltd as a BECS Tier 2 Member (effective 28 July 2025).  

For more information on AusPayNet membership, please visit our website.