Account-to-Account Payments Roundtable

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A2A Payments Roundtable

The A2A Payments Roundtable brings together key organisations to shape the future of A2A payments in Australia. The roundtable is led by Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet), Australian Payments Plus (AP+), the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Commonwealth Treasury.

The A2A Payments Roundtable’s main purpose is to develop a common vision for the future of the account-to-account payments system and an industry roadmap for delivering that vision, including high-level deliverables and milestones.

Members of the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) and the NPP as well as other relevant stakeholders, including key end-user groups and any operators of alternative payment systems, will be engaged through the roundtable process.

Meeting updates

June 2026 roundtable meeting update

At the ninth meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable held on Tuesday 30 June 2026 in Sydney, attended by representatives from AusPayNet, AP+, the RBA and the Commonwealth Treasury, Roundtable participants discussed the following:

The A2A vision. The Roundtable welcomed the finalisation of the A2A vision outputs that will be published on a dedicated A2A payments website in July. These include the updated A2A vision report, which incorporates feedback received from the recent public consultation, and a consultation feedback summary outlining the revisions made.
The development of the A2A Roadmap. The Roundtable acknowledged the scale of work required to develop an industry roadmap that achieves strong industry and end-user support. The Roundtable noted that the Roundtable Participants Committee (RTPC) has now been mobilised. The inaugural meeting of the RTPC will be held on 9 July 2026. The Roundtable discussed the priority topics that will require the RTPC’s input to inform the development of the A2A industry roadmap. The Roundtable also discussed the Voice of Customer and Stakeholder forums that will be established to provide end-user and service provider perspectives on the roadmap’s development.

The next meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable will be held on 30 July 2026.

May 2026 roundtable meeting update

At the eighth meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable held on Thursday 28 May 2026 in Sydney, attended by representatives from AusPayNet, AP+, the RBA and the Commonwealth Treasury, Roundtable participants discussed the following:

The A2A Vision. The Roundtable welcomed the submission responses to the public consultation on the draft A2A vision and discussed emerging themes for consideration. The updated A2A vision, incorporating feedback from the public consultation, is expected to be released by mid-year 2026.
The A2A Roadmap. The Roundtable discussed the approach and plans for developing the A2A roadmap to achieve the desired future state for the A2A payments system. The Roundtable provided direction on the key strategic questions that must be resolved to develop a consolidated A2A roadmap involving deliverables and timelines across relevant infrastructure, capabilities, standards and other requirements.

The Roundtable considered a stakeholder engagement plan and noted the mobilisation of the Roundtable Participants Committee (RTPC) to provide input to the Roundtable in the development of the A2A Roadmap. The RTPC will comprise representatives from Tier 1 members of BECS, NPP Participants and NPP Connected Institutions who process most of the volumes in A2A payments. These participants will be predominantly responsible for delivering the end-user objectives and system characteristics required to achieve the desired future state. The Roundtable also agreed that appropriate Voice of Customer and Stakeholder forums will be established for gaining direct end-user and service provider perspectives into the development of the A2A roadmap.

The next meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable will be held on 30 June 2026.

April 2026 roundtable meeting update

The A2A Vision. The Roundtable welcomed the draft A2A Vision that will be issued shortly for a three-week public consultation.

The A2A Vision, incorporating feedback from the public consultation, is expected to be released by mid-year 2026.
Industry Options Analysis and the A2A Industry Roadmap. Participants discussed the work required to develop the industry roadmap for achieving the target end-state for the A2A payments system. This will involve working directly with system participants and stakeholders, including end-users, to identify the preferred approach for meeting the A2A Vision’s end-user objectives and system characteristics in a way that promotes broad consensus. The Roundtable reviewed a proposal to establish a Roundtable Committee with system participants to support this phase of work, with appropriate mechanisms for gathering end-user perspectives.
AusPayNet’s assessment of options for the future of BECS. AusPayNet provided its directional view on the options for potential maintenance or upgrades of the BECS ecosystem that may be required to achieve the A2A Vision and the areas that require deeper due diligence, including the ecosystem’s reliance on legacy systems and resources, and limited data capabilities. This assessment will serve as one of the key inputs to the Industry Options Analysis and the A2A Industry Roadmap phases of work.
Update on the AP+ Move to NPP program. AP+ provided an update on the program including the recent Move to NPP Steering Committee meeting.

The next meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable will be held on 28 May 2026.

March 2026 roundtable meeting update

At the sixth meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable held on Monday 23 March 2026 in Sydney, attended by representatives from AusPayNet, AP+, the RBA and the Commonwealth Treasury, Roundtable participants discussed the following:

Development of the A2A Vision. The Roundtable discussed progress made on the A2A Vision’s development and the valuable feedback received from stakeholders when they met with the Roundtable in February and March 2026. The feedback covered several themes, including business and government needs, system safety, resilience, interoperability and economics, where greater clarity and prioritisation may assist in achieving a common understanding of the desired future state for A2A payments in Australia. The Roundtable is addressing this feedback and expects to release a draft of the A2A Vision for wider public consultation in April 2026.
Development of the A2A Industry Roadmap. The Roundtable reviewed a high-level plan for developing the A2A Industry Roadmap by the end of 2026. The Roundtable discussed how the A2A Vision will anchor the assessment of the industry’s options at the overall ecosystem level for the A2A Industry Roadmap, and acknowledged that the A2A Industry Roadmap work might also identify areas where the A2A Vision benefits from greater clarity. The Roundtable noted that, if that is the case, it would look to publish an updated A2A Vision alongside the A2A Industry Roadmap. The Roundtable also discussed enhancing the governance and coordination arrangements for this next phase of work to ensure appropriate direct Roundtable engagement with stakeholders, including industry participants and end-users.
AusPayNet’s assessment of options for the future of the BECS system. AusPayNet provided an update on their assessment of options for potential maintenance and upgrades of the BECS ecosystem that may be required to achieve the A2A Vision. The findings of this assessment will inform the industry options analysis at the overall ecosystem level and the A2A Industry Roadmap. AusPayNet confirmed that it remains on track to provide direction on the options for BECS by the end of March 2026 together with a list of areas for further analysis which will be completed as part of the development of the A2A Industry Roadmap.

Update on the AP+ Move to NPP program. AP+ provided an update on the work underway looking at the possible development of a new service on the NPP to support the processing of bulk payments.

The next meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable will be held on 15 April 2026.

February 2026 roundtable meeting update

At the fifth meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable held on Friday 6 February 2026 in Sydney, attended by representatives from AusPayNet, AP+, the RBA and the Commonwealth Treasury, Roundtable participants discussed the following:

members of BECS and NPP
state and federal governments
corporates, service providers and industry advocacy groups
consumer advocates
other A2A payment system operators.

Roundtable deliverables. The Roundtable discussed progress made on the A2A Vision’s development and discussed the 2026 timeline for the Roundtable deliverables. The Roundtable confirmed the updated plan for direct engagement with key stakeholders. Five stakeholder Roundtable meetings will occur in February and March 2026 and will involve the following groups:

These meetings will be an opportunity for key stakeholders to provide early input into the A2A Vision’s development.

Development of the vision for A2A payments. The Roundtable welcomed the working draft of the A2A Vision and provided feedback on its structure and content. The Roundtable expects to issue the draft A2A Vision in April 2026 for wider consultation.
Development of the A2A payments Industry roadmap. The Roundtable reviewed the high-level plan to deliver an industry roadmap by the end of 2026, following the finalisation of the A2A vision, and agreed to discuss the approach and the deliverables in more detail at the April Roundtable. The Roundtable also agreed to set up a working group to support this work.

AusPayNet’s assessment of options for the future of the BECS system. AusPayNet provided an update on the progress of their work to assess the options for BECS. This work is focusing on the viability and feasibility of any maintenance or upgrades of BECS that may be required to achieve the A2A Vision. AusPayNet confirmed that it will provide a directional view on the viability and feasibility assessment to BECS Members and the Roundtable by March 2026.
Update on the AP+ Move to NPP program. AP+ provided an update on the program's priorities for 2026 including capability development plans, contingency, and focusing on supporting industry readiness for Payday Super.

The next meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable will be held on 23 March 2026.

December 2025 roundtable meeting update

At the fourth meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable held on Friday 12 December 2025 in Sydney, attended by representatives from AusPayNet, AP+, the RBA and the Commonwealth Treasury, Roundtable participants discussed the following:

Roundtable deliverables. The Roundtable discussed progress made on the vision’s development and discussed the revised timeline for the Roundtable deliverables.The Roundtable will engage directly with key stakeholder groups in the development of the vision in February and March 2026 and expects to consult on a draft vision in April 2026.

Development of the vision for A2A payments. The Roundtable provided feedback on the draft vision report and additional trade-offs that may arise between various end-user needs and the payment system characteristics required to enable the delivery of these needs. Potential trade- offs that were discussed included the consideration of private commercial objectives whilst improving payment system market transparency and interoperability.
AusPayNet’s assessment of options for the future of the BECS system. AusPayNet confirmed it will provide an update on the future of BECS to industry on 16 December 2025.
Update on the AP+ Move to NPP program: AP+ provided an update on the progress being made on the design of a bulk service, contingency, improvements in account reach and an assessment of the features of BECS compared to the NPP.

The next meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable will be held on 6 February 2026.

November 2025 roundtable meeting update

At the third meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable held on Friday 21 November 2025 in Sydney, attended by representatives from AusPayNet, AP+, the RBA and the Commonwealth Treasury, Roundtable participants discussed the following:

Development of the vision for A2A payments. The Roundtable welcomed the publication of the Findings Report on insights from the public consultation on the vision for A2A payments. The Roundtable discussed progress made on the vision’s development, and provided feedback on the approach to address trade-offs that may arise between various end-user needs and the payment system characteristics required to enable the delivery of these needs. Potential trade-offs that were discussed included:

balancing standardisation with payment provider flexibility;
the tension between providing low-cost payments and delivering new payment capabilities;
meeting the demand for fast payments while protecting the safety of users; and
facilitating broad payment provider access to the payment system while maintaining its safety and stability.

The Roundtable agreed a plan for direct engagement with key stakeholder groups to discuss the emerging vision. The Roundtable will organise separate sessions with members of BECS and NPP, operators of other payments schemes, and end-user groups. The Roundtable expects these sessions to occur in February and March 2026.

AusPayNet’s assessment of options for the future of the BECS system. AusPayNet provided a further update on its discussions with BECS members regarding the future of BECS and confirmed its plan to release an update on the future of BECS before the end of 2025.

Update on the AP+ Move to NPP program. AP+ provided a program update noting that a number of discussions relevant to the Move to NPP program were occurring via AP+ scheme governance committees over the coming weeks. A further update on the program will be provided at the next Roundtable including the work underway on bulk payments and contingency.

The next meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable will be held on 12 December 2025.

October 2025 roundtable meeting update

At the second meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable held on Thursday 16 October 2025 in Sydney, attended by representatives from AusPayNet, AP+, the RBA and the Commonwealth Treasury, Roundtable participants discussed the following:

The public consultation on the vision for A2A payments. The Roundtable discussed the progress of the consultation findings report and noted that it is due to be published by AusPayNet and AP+ in November 2025.

Development of the vision for A2A payments. The Roundtable noted the progress on the development of the vision. This included discussions on how the findings of the public consultation are being considered, the scope of A2A payments that will be covered by the vision, the end-user objectives and the system characteristics that will enable their delivery, and some of the trade-offs that will need to be addressed.

AusPayNet’s assessment of options for the future of the BECS system. AusPayNet provided an update on the assessment that is occurring with BECS members. The Roundtable discussed the interdependency between the A2A vision and the future of BECS and the need to provide clarity to the industry on how they will come together in the roadmap for A2A payments. The Roundtable noted that AusPayNet will address this in its update on the target end-date for BECS by the end of 2025.

Update on the AP+ Move to NPP program. AP+ provided an update on the findings from their consultation on future NPP capability and potential enhancements. The Roundtable also discussed AP+’s contingency framework and development of a bulk payments service to support the processing of large payment files across the NPP.

The Roundtable’s plan. The Roundtable confirmed that stakeholders, including members of BECS and NPP, operators of other payments schemes and end-user groups, will be invited to meet with the Roundtable while the vision is being developed to provide direct perspectives. It was noted that AusPayNet and AP+ are in the process of finalising the details of these sessions.

September 2025 roundtable meeting update

At the first meeting of the A2A Payments Roundtable held on Friday 5 September 2025 in Sydney, attended by representatives from AusPayNet, AP+, the RBA and the Commonwealth Treasury, Roundtable participants discussed the following:

The Roundtable’s purpose and governance. The Roundtable confirmed its primary purpose is to arrive at a common vision on the desired future state of A2A payments in Australia and a plan to achieve this vision. Participants discussed roles and responsibilities, decision-making processes, meeting organisation, record management, communication processes, and proposed deliverables.

The Roundtable agreed to meet every four-to-six weeks. The Roundtable’s plan for engaging directly with relevant stakeholders. The Roundtable recognised the importance of ensuring direct stakeholder engagement in the Roundtable process. Participants discussed high level engagement principles and a more detailed plan identifying the types of stakeholders to be engaged and the manner and time of such engagement. Relevant stakeholders include members of BECS and NPP, operators of other payments schemes, end-user groups, and other relevant subject matter experts.

Progress on the vision for the desired future state of A2A payments in Australia. The Roundtable welcomed the high volume of submissions to the joint consultation issued by AusPayNet and AP+ on the vision, and the diversity of stakeholder views represented in these submissions. Participants discussed key themes arising from the submissions and next steps. AusPayNet and AP+ confirmed that the aggregated and anonymised findings from the consultation will be made publicly available in October.

AusPayNet’s assessment of options for the future of the BECS system. AusPayNet provided an update on its work on options for the future of BECS, focusing on end-user readiness, viability, resilience, contingency, economics and trust. The Roundtable discussed the interdependency between the A2A vision, the assessment of options for the future of BECS, and the Move to NPP program, and the need for ongoing calibration between these activities. The Roundtable noted AusPayNet’s intention to review the target end-date for BECS by the end of 2025.

Update on the AP+ Move to NPP program. AP+ provided an overview of the various activities underway by AP+ and industry participants to support the transition of A2A payments to NPP in the areas of capability, capacity, reach, resilience, contingency and change management, as well as designing a bulk service to support the processing of large payment files across the NPP.

The expected timing of the Roundtable’s recommendations. The Roundtable aim to develop a proposed A2A vision by the end of 2025, and a high-level plan and roadmap to achieve that vision by mid-2026.

The Account-to-Account Payments Roundtable brings together Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet), Australian Payments Plus (AP+), the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), and Commonwealth Treasury to support discussion and coordination on the future of account-to-account payments in Australia. The Roundtable is not a governance or decision-making body. Participating organisations retain their respective responsibilities, governance arrangements, and independence. This website is managed by Australian Payments Plus (AP+) on behalf of the Account-to-Account Payments Roundtable.