NPP delayed to early 2018
(3 October 2017 – Australia) New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA) has announced that its real-time payment platform will be launching from 26 January 2018, despite plans for it to have been available this quarter.
The platform, developed by a group of 13 banks and financial institutions, costing around A$1 billion will enable much simpler, real-time transfers between accounts.
Prior to the full roll out, bank employees will test the technology, as they make real-time payments between each other and their bank.
One of the biggest and most recognised advantages for consumers and businesses will be the immediate availability of funds, which can occasionally take up to three business days to clear. The platform will also allow transfers using much simpler identifiers than a BSB and account number, such as a mobile phone number or email address.
The majority of Australian bank accounts will have access at launch.
“The industry recognised the need for a plan that would support the future of payments. Already the Australian public has embraced electronic payment methods – chip cards (particularly contactless or “wave and pay” technology), BPAY, and new technologies such as smartphones,” NPPA chief executive, Adrian Lovney said.
“But for this evolution to continue, our basic payments infrastructure needed an upgrade to enable a shift from batch or overnight account-based payments to immediate payments, and this could only be done with a whole of industry approach.”
Similar systems in other regions have been exposed to increased instances of fraud, with Lovney stating that financial institutions will need to increase their detection capability.
“With any new system that is introduced, you will see a spike in activity as people think about how they can take advantage of the change but banks will continue to put in place systems behind the scenes to try to protect customers from being tricked,” he said.
“While consumers and businesses can be reassured by the platform’s high levels of security, they will need to remain alert to the possibility of cons and scams that will continue to happen outside the platform’s control – like the recent spate of scams involving people impersonating the ATO, for instance,” Lovney added.
While NPPA says it will be increasing marketing in an effort to lift awareness of the platform among consumers, East’s 2017 Merchant Payments report found that less than 25 percent of all businesses were aware of the platform and its features, while of those that were aware, over 75 percent cited “same day payment” as the major potential benefit to their business.
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