Aussie 'FinFra': Magic wand for technology trailblazers

There's a headline-grabbing group that decides on interest rates, and a more Cinderella-like board that is sweeping out last-century payment systems with midnight about to strike on old ways of getting paid.

For decades, a bulk electronic clearing system, nicknamed Becs, has been processing salary and welfare payments, bills, fines and taxes.

But data-rich financial systems that can cope with real-time 24/7 requirements, meet global standards and beat hackers are now required.

And there are hopes that financial technology infrastructure - or FinFra - will drive change in the payments sector, before it's too late.

A new national platform was launched in 2018 and is already used by more than 100 banks, credit unions, building societies, fintechs and other organisations to support real-time payments for consumers, businesses and government agencies.

Additionally, cheques will be gone by 2030 and federal government departments must move to new forms of payments by 2028.

RBA governor Michele Bullock, who chairs the Payment Systems Board as well as the much-maligned Reserve Bank Board, says Becs has been "a low-cost and reliable workhorse".

However, with businesses and consumers more reliant on electronic payment systems than ever before, and outages becoming increasingly disruptive, more than 30 per cent of account-to-account transfers are now made over the new platform.

More than a year ago, Treasurer Jim Chalmers described existing infrastructure as "clunky, inefficient, and cumbersome to maintain" even though payments are the tracks on which our economy runs.

The payments industry is leading the transition and has a target date of 2030 as the world moves on from punch cards and batches of "business day only" payments.

Similar to when a date was set for the end of Australian analogue TV in 2013, the deadline for decommissioning is driving remaining work.

Technology and innovation are also moving quickly, with digital debits, bill payments, identity verification, QR code payments and phone apps replacing wallets - and traditional banks.

The first non-bank approved to connect directly to Australia's real-time payments framework was Zepto, which has quickly grown from a NSW regional start-up into a company involved in processing $50 billion of account-to-account payments annually.

Co-founder Chris Jewell told AAP the new framework was a "one-in-a-million chance" with all the banks cooperating in its launch.

Officially called the New Payments Platform (NPP), he says it was being lauded as one of the best frameworks globally for an on-demand digital world.

But new ways need regulation and governance to avoid fresh risks and financial instability - and competition to reduce costs.

Mr Jewell says Zepto has been a strong advocate, first working with the Reserve Bank policy team and developing the firm's own technology to increase the velocity of money moving around the economy.

Artificial intelligence, block chain, a consumer data right and open banking are all trends that are influencing change but can't deliver value without real-time payments, he explains.

Therefore 2030 is a "line in the sand" for the legacy system with most (85 per cent) of economic value in Australia still tied to bank accounts, and needing a better way.

"The world is moving at quick speed but the payments attached to that are slow, uncertain and expensive," Mr Jewell says.

"Governments use it, utilities use it, bill payments, welfare cheques - all of these things are still driven between bank accounts."

Companies such as Zepto, a proud trailblazer from Byron Bay, are also talking with Treasury about setting a high bar for any licensing scheme to avoid risk or instability in such critical infrastructure.

When businesses were able to pay out in real-time, customer satisfaction went through the roof, he adds.

Five years ago, a cab driver working on a Friday night or long weekends couldn't get paid until the next week but was still incurring fuel and cleaning costs.

Now software can act as another layer, rapidly verify the work and send the messages that trigger same-day payments to the drivers - every day.

"You forget how far we've come, and that was pushed further by COVID19 with the use of cash falling, credit cards coming off and real-time payments going up," Mr Jewell says.

Zepto recently signed a contract with Snowy Hydro's energy retailing arm Red Energy and was selected by Woolworths Group's standalone payments business Wpay to power "PayTo" services on the new payments platform.

Developed by platform operator NPP Australia, PayTo is a new, digital way for merchants and businesses to initiate real-time payments from their customers' bank accounts directly with speed and security.

Katrina Stuart, a general manager at Australian Payments Plus, a member-based organisation that brings together BPAY, eftpos and NPP Australia, said the Zepto partnership could be a catalyst to drive uptake across the wider retail industry.

"PayTo can not only deliver benefits to the end-consumers using it at the check-out but also to the merchants from a back-office perspective," she said.

As well as real-time bank account and payment verification, processing, settlement, and reconciliation, the system is designed to provide better protection against criminals.

"It is important that appropriate measures are put in place to support the transition away from the bulk electronic clearing system," a coalition spokesman said.

Regulatory body Australian Payments Network, known as AusPayNet, says the costs of operating a new platform are largely fixed.

But, vital for the nation's many small traders, as volumes on the new platform have grown, the wholesale transaction cost is falling - from around 39 cents in 2019 to an expected four cents in 2025.

And as volumes continue to grow, this cost is expected to fall further, according to the regulatory body.

AusPayNet's research also shows there are 23 different types of Becs payment transactions and the new platform as it stands can cope with all of them except one - the settlement of BPAY transactions.

But users of popular BPAY have nothing to fear. "BPAY Next Generation" is coming.

Crucially, the ball is already rolling on food and groceries, fuel, booze and much e-commerce.

Australian Associated Press