The vision for account-to-account payments in Australia

A2A vision > Appendices 

8 Appendices 

8.1 External forces affecting the future of A2A payments  

Payments are evolving from discrete transactions to embedded capabilities that enable economic activity. Advances in data exchange, automation, and systems integration will see A2A payments increasingly integrated into broader digital workflows. 

At the same time, developments in artificial intelligence, digital identity, digital wallets and digital assets are beginning to influence how payments are initiated, authorised and managed. As these technologies develop and scale, they will reshape payment behaviours and introduce new strategic, operational risks, particularly around accountability, liability, data use and resilience.  

The A2A payments system may need to adjust in response to the development and adoption of these technologies, to continue to maintain trust and meet end user needs. 
 
Key trends and implications for A2A payments 

• AI may enable payments to be made on behalf of users - AI may enable decisions to be made on a user’s behalf based on consent, context, intent and real-time data. Payments may be triggered automatically by events such as delivery, usage, contractual conditions, or financial preferences. Implication for A2A payments: Systems may need to support continuous, event-driven processes with real-time data and decisioning. Mandates and consent frameworks may define who can initiate a payment, and what an AI agent is authorised to do. Real-time risk monitoring could be required to help maintain trust.
• Digital identity is expected to become central to payment authentication - Digital identity solutions are evolving to allow users greater visibility and control over how their identity is managed and shared. Identity apps are likely to become a critical layer, enabling secure authentication, privacy-preserving verification, and seamless interactions. Implication for A2A payments: A2A systems may support interoperability across identity frameworks including government-issued digital IDs, bank-provided credentials, merchant platforms, and emerging decentralised identity providers. This could require common standards for identity verification, attribute exchange, and trust frameworks, enabling stronger fraud prevention while reducing friction.
• Digital wallets may become a central hub for payments - Digital wallets are evolving from storing credentials to hubs that orchestrate payments, identity, loyalty, subscriptions and more. As embedded finance, AI agents and digital identity mature, wallets may become the primary interface through which users manage and control their financial interactions.Implication for A2A payments: The system may need to integrate with major digital wallet systems, with frictionless account linking, strong authentication, and clear authorisation, portability and user controls. Integration should be designed and governed in a way that supports competition and interoperability while preserving the long-term sustainability of the underlying system.
• Digital assets are expected to become a parallel value layer - Tokenised forms of money, such as stablecoins and tokenised liabilities, are moving from experimentation to adoption. This reflects a transition toward programmable, ledger-based value enabling new settlement models, continuous availability and more automated execution. Implications for A2A payments: A2A systems may need to support secure interoperability between account-based money and tokenised representations of fiat currency, enabling reliable movement of funds between these environments while maintaining trust. 

8.2 Examples of capabilities across the payment lifecycle

Payment functionality by payment lifecycle 

• Initiation - core functionality: payment initiation, transmission of payment instructions with related data  
• Initiation - enhanced feature: alias-based addressing (mobile, email, ABN), POS and e-commerce support via standardised QR codes or NFC integration, API and workflow based initiation  
• Authentication & validation - core functionality: payer authentication and payee verification to confirm identities  
• Authentication & validation - enhanced feature: integration with digital identity solutions, support consent and authorisation frameworks that enable programmable and conditional payments, payment authority and mandate management  
• Clearing - core functionality: reliable payment clearing  
• Clearing - enhanced feature: flexible and real-time payment clearing  
• Settlement - core functionality: choice of settlement options (e.g. real-time settlement of individual payments 24/7, settlement on a net basis at different intervals in the day)
• Settlement - enhanced feature: expansion of settlement options to support more efficient liquidity management, including real-time settlement of batched payments and more frequent new settlement intervals 
• Reporting & reconciliation – core functionality: confirmation and notification of payment outcomes, payment references and basic transaction data, rich, structured data for efficiency in reconciliation, compliance and audits  
• Reporting & reconciliation – enhanced feature: transaction notifications for greater traceability 
• Issue resolution & exception processing - core functionality: payment returns and reject-and-fix workflows including reason codes,e ffective dispute management processes 
• Issue resolution & exception processing - enhanced feature: real-time refunds including reason codes 

8.3 Common types of A2A payments 

• Common disbursements: Payroll, Superannuation contributions, Welfare & benefit payments, Tax refunds, Subsidies and incentives, Insurance claims & workers compensation, Supplier payments, Dividends.
• Recurring payments: Rent, Loan repayments, Subscriptions, Utilities, Memberships, Tax instalments.
• One-off bill payments: Government fees & charges, Medical bills, School fees, Trades invoices, Professional services.
• Retail purchases: In-store purchases, eCommerce checkout, Marketplace purchases, Digital wallet funding.
• Person-to-person transfers: Informal payments, Splitting bills/shared expenses.
• Higher value payments: Property settlement, Investment and securities transactions.  
  
  

8.4 A2A payments vision to roadmap development process  

A2A Payments Vision 

• Step 1: Discovery - Engage stakeholders and end-users through public consultation.
• Step 2: Discuss - Review consultation findings through roundtable discussions.
• Step 3: Draft - Develop draft A2A vision leveraging inputs from step 1 and 2.
• Step 4: Consult - Publish draft A2A vision for public consultation.
• Step 5: Refine - Incorporate feedback and finalise A2A vision.
• Step 6: Publish - Publish the A2A vision.

The process includes stakeholder engagement through public consultations and direct engagements. 

A2A Payments Roadmap 

• Step 1: Align - Establish governance, scope and plan for development of roadmap.
• Step 2: Define - Define desired future state and capability needs.
• Step 3: Assess - Develop and assess roadmap options for feedback.
• Step 4: Consult - Publish draft roadmap for wider consultation.
• Step 5: Refine - Incorporate feedback and finalise priorities.
• Step 6: Publish - Publish the industry roadmap.

The process includes stakeholder engagement through Roundtable Participants Committee (RTPC), Voice of Customer, Voice of Stakeholder panels and wider consultation including with other stakeholder groups. Further details on the approach to stakeholder engagement is covered in 6.4.