(12 March 2025 – Australia) The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is urging greater clarity and coordination in the planned phase-out of the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS), highlighting a lack of industry consensus on the future of account-to-account payments.
BECS has been a cornerstone of Australia’s payments infrastructure for over 30 years, facilitating critical transactions such as salaries, pensions, and bill payments. While a phased transition away from BECS has been proposed, potentially by 2030, the RBA warns that current industry planning is inadequate.
“Any serious disruption to account-to-account payments has the potential to undermine confidence in the financial system, any change programme of this magnitude must be orderly and well-coordinated,” said Brad Jones, assistant governor at the RBA.
The central bank is calling for an industry-wide vision for the future of account-to-account payments, a comprehensive assessment of alternative solutions, and a prioritised approach to ensure a smooth transition.