RBA Paves Way for 24/7 Payment Infrastructure, CBDC Prep
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock has unveiled a four-pillar plan to modernize the national payment infrastructure. The bank will replace its aging BECS system with 24/7 real-time payments by mid-2026. A roundtable will define the new infrastructure vision by late 2025 and an implementation roadmap by mid-2026. RBA is partnering with industry to cut costs and boost transparency in cross-border payments. It will invest in fraud prevention and upgrade card schemes with quantum-safe AES encryption. The plan also strengthens operational resilience amid rising digital currencies and lays groundwork for a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC). Despite digital trends, RBA will maintain cash circulation and explore new distribution models. Crypto traders should watch this payment infrastructure revamp for its impact on digital asset settlement and cross-border flows.
Neutral
The RBA’s payment infrastructure overhaul is likely neutral for cryptocurrency prices. In the short term, enhancing real-time and cross-border payment rails may reduce reliance on private digital assets for remittances, which could weigh on certain stablecoins. However, stronger fraud prevention and resilience signal institutional support for digital payment technologies. In the long term, the RBA’s exploration of a CBDC and upgraded infrastructure may foster broader adoption of digital currencies, offering new settlement rails that crypto projects could integrate. Overall, these regulatory and infrastructure improvements balance out, leading to a neutral market impact.