Reserve Bank of Australia

What Reserve Bank of Australia does

The Reserve Bank of Australia is Australia's central bank, established in 1960 under the Reserve Bank Act 1959 and headquartered in Sydney. It conducts monetary policy through the cash rate target (currently 4.35%, the highest among G10 central banks), maintains financial stability via the Council of Financial Regulators alongside APRA, ASIC and Treasury, issues Australia's polymer banknotes from a purpose-built facility in Melbourne, and operates core payments infrastructure including the New Payments Platform, the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System, and Exchange Settlement Accounts for authorised deposit-taking institutions. The RBA also provides banking services to the Australian Government, processing over 300 million payments annually including Medicare refunds, tax transactions and disaster relief payments.

The RBA's technology stack centres on sovereign monetary operations: the cash rate target is transmitted via overnight money market operations, settlement occurs through RITS and ESAs, and retail payments flow through the NPP under RBA oversight of eftpos, Visa and Mastercard networks. Its proprietary polymer banknote technology, co-developed with CSIRO in the 1980s, is a differentiated intangible asset. The RBA is actively researching tokenised financial market infrastructure through Project Acacia with the Digital Finance CRC, testing wholesale CBDC and deposit token settlement models with CBA, J.P. Morgan, ASX and HQLAX, and is preparing regulatory coverage for emerging payment categories via the 2026 Review of Payments System Regulation.

The RBA is not a commercial enterprise: it does not generate revenue through pricing, has no shareholders, and is not listed on any exchange. It is a statutory body corporate funded through its central banking operations and accountable to the Australian Parliament. Its customer set is institutional rather than commercial — the Australian Government, commercial banks, financial institutions, and ultimately the Australian public as beneficiaries of its dual mandate for price stability (2–3% inflation target) and full employment.

Name

Reserve Bank of Australia

Legal name

Reserve Bank of Australia

Website

https://rba.gov.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Reserve Bank of Australia is Australia's central bank, conducting monetary policy, maintaining financial stability, issuing polymer banknotes, operating core payments infrastructure (NPP, RITS, ESAs), and providing banking services to the Australian Government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Central Banking

NAICS

Monetary Authorities-Central Bank (52111), Monetary Authorities-Central Bank (521)

SIC

Functions Related To Depository Banking, Nec (6099)

akta.pro primary industry

Central Bank Reserve Management (FSAAAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

International Monetary & Financial Stability Institutions (BPADACAE)

Keywords

• Central banking
• Monetary policy
• Payment systems
• Banknote issuance
• Financial stability

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Monetary Policy Operations: The RBA conducts monetary policy to contribute to stability of currency, full employment, and economic prosperity. It does not generate commercial revenue but operates as a public institution funded by the Australian Government.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Reserve Bank of Australia is Australia's central bank, established under the Reserve Bank Act 1959. It formulates and implements monetary policy, issues Australian banknotes, maintains financial system stability, operates Australia's core payment and settlement infrastructure, and provides banking services to the Australian Government.

Product overview

The Reserve Bank of Australia operates as Australia's central bank, offering a portfolio of monetary policy, payment infrastructure, and financial services products. Its primary monetary policy product is the Cash Rate Target (currently 4.35%), which influences all lending and savings rates across the economy. The RBA's core payment infrastructure encompasses the New Payments Platform (NPP) for real-time retail payments, the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS) for high-value interbank settlement, and Exchange Settlement Accounts (ESAs) for ADIs. The RBA also regulates eftpos, Visa, and Mastercard card networks and conducts digital finance research including wholesale and retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) exploration. Key research initiatives include Project Acacia (tokenised asset market research with the Digital Finance CRC) and the 2026 Review of Payments System Regulation. Additional offerings include government banking services (processing over 300 million government payments annually), Australian polymer banknote production, free education resources, and regular publications including the Statement on Monetary Policy and Research Discussion Papers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Monetary Policy and Cash Rate Setting Statutory monetary policy function setting the cash rate target to maintain price stability, full employment, and economic prosperity in Australia. Available to the Australian public and institutions through published decisions, minutes, and statements.
• Australian Banknotes Legal tender banknotes in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100, issued on polymer substrate. Distributed to authorised deposit-taking institutions for circulation to the Australian public.
• Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS) Australia's real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system used by banks and financial institutions to settle high-value and time-critical payments. Operates continuously on business days and processes payments drawn on Exchange Settlement Account balances.
• Exchange Settlement Account (ESA) Services Reserve accounts held by authorised deposit-taking institutions at the Reserve Bank of Australia, used to settle payment obligations and access overnight funds. Available to banks, building societies, and credit unions authorised by the RBA.
• Government Banking Services Banking, settlement, and treasury services provided to the Australian Government, including management of the Commonwealth Public Account, registry services for government securities, and operational support for treasury and debt management activities.
• Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) A pilot wholesale CBDC platform under development that uses tokenised central bank money and wholesale stablecoins to enable atomic settlement of tokenised assets. Being explored with industry participants as a future settlement infrastructure option.
• Project Acacia Research Program A research and pilot program investigating the tokenisation of assets, programmable payments, and the use of wholesale CBDC and stablecoins in a regulated Australian financial market context. Engages industry participants to test emerging payment and settlement use cases.
• RBA Statistical Data and Publications Published statistical series (interest rates, exchange rates, money supply, financial aggregates), and analytical publications including the Statement on Monetary Policy, Financial Stability Review, Bulletin, and Annual Report. Available to the public via the RBA website.
• Review of the Australian Payments System Regulation, oversight, and reform of the Australian payments system, including setting standards for card payment networks, issuing interchange and surcharging regulations, and reviewing competition in payment services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Keeps annual consumer price inflation between 2 and 3 percent (the inflation target)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Commonwealth Bank of AustraliacoreTechnology or Integration · 18 May 2026CBA collaborated with J.P. Morgan, ASX, and HQLAX under Project Acacia to test interoperable settlement models combining CBA Deposit Token and wholesale Australian Dollar CBDC with tokenized assets orchestrated on the HQLAX platform, demonstrating digital currency and collateral record efficiency in Australia's $350 billion repo market.
• J.P. MorgancoreTechnology or Integration · 18 May 2026J.P. Morgan participated in Project Acacia alongside CBA, ASX, and HQLAX, testing interoperable settlement models for tokenized wholesale markets demonstrating how digital currencies and collateral records can improve efficiency in core financial markets.
• ASXcoreTechnology or Integration · 18 May 2026ASX participated in Project Acacia, testing tokenized asset settlement infrastructure as part of Australia's move toward digital financial market infrastructure, demonstrating real-world application of tokenization in core financial markets.
• HQLAXcoreTechnology or Integration · 18 May 2026HQLAX provided the platform for orchestrating tokenized assets in Project Acacia, demonstrating interoperable settlement models combining CBA Deposit Token and wholesale Australian Dollar CBDC for Australia's $350 billion repo market.
• Digital Finance Cooperative Research CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe RBA and DFCRC jointly led Project Acacia, a wholesale tokenized asset market pilot testing 20 use cases across issuance, servicing, trading, and settlement of fixed income, managed funds, repos, structured products, private markets, carbon credits, and trade payables. The project concluded with findings indicating settlement cash leg is the bottleneck preventing broader institutional tokenization adoption.
• Account-to-Account Payments Roundtable (AusPayNet, Australian Payments Plus, Commonwealth Treasury)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA collaborative body including the RBA, Commonwealth Treasury, Australia Payments Network, and Australian Payments Plus developing a draft vision for modernizing Australia's Account-to-Account payments systems to support emerging technologies including digital IDs, digital wallets, and stablecoins. The consultation document identifies tokenized money as a design consideration for mainstream payment infrastructure.
• Council of Financial Regulators (APRA, ASIC, Treasury)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe RBA collaborates with APRA, ASIC, and Treasury through the Council of Financial Regulators to identify risks in the financial system and develop plans to address them. Assistant Governor Brad Jones noted the Council has been working to ensure the financial system can weather extreme shocks, including geopolitical risks and cyber threats.
• KPMG AustraliaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerKPMG provided audit services to the RBA through the Australian National Audit Office and ran the RBA's whistleblower hotline service. Following scandals involving misuse of confidential client information and mistreatment of a whistleblower (leading to KPMG CEO and audit partner resignations), the RBA announced it would re-tender its whistleblower hotline services.
• CSIROcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe RBA and CSIRO jointly invented polymer banknote technology in the 1980s, creating Australia's proprietary banknote technology now considered among the highest quality and most secure globally.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reserve Bank of New Zealand: New Zealand's central bank with a near-identical mandate (monetary policy, financial stability, currency issuance). Most direct peer given proximity in economic structure, policy approach, and scale (population ~5M vs Australia's 26M+).
• Bank of Canada: Canada's central bank with comparable mandate, similar inflation-targeting framework (2% target), and analogous dual mandate language. Operates core payment infrastructure (Lynx) and is a natural peer for RBA on policy and CBDC research.
• Bank of England: UK central bank with comparable monetary policy, financial stability, and banknote issuance roles. Similar institutional history (operates independently with government oversight) and active in CBDC research with the digital pound.
• Swiss National Bank: Swiss central bank, comparable in size and policy sophistication, with similar payment infrastructure (SIC system) and active research on wholesale CBDC and tokenization, making it a natural G10 peer.
• Norges Bank: Norway's central bank with comparable small-open-economy characteristics and active CBDC research. Shares Australia's resource-economy exposure and serves as a like-sized peer for cross-comparison.

Broad incumbents

• Federal Reserve System: US central bank and the world's largest by balance sheet. Sets the global policy backdrop the RBA responds to; operates FedNow real-time payments and Federal Reserve Banks as the analog to RITS/ESAs.
• European Central Bank: Manages eurozone monetary policy and operates TARGET2/TIPS payment infrastructure analogous to RITS and NPP. Active in digital euro exploration parallel to RBA's wholesale CBDC work.
• Bank of Japan: Japan's central bank with comparable mandate and active in CBDC pilot research. BOJ's experience managing yield curve control offers relevant parallels for RBA's policy and balance sheet operations.

Emerging players

• Monetary Authority of Singapore: Singapore's integrated central bank and financial regulator, a leader in tokenization initiatives (Project Guardian, Orchid CBDC pilots). Direct competitor in the regional race for digital finance leadership and an emerging peer in CBDC/wholesale tokenization.

Others

• Bank for International Settlements: Bank for central banks; hosts Project Agorá, mBridge, and other cross-border tokenization initiatives. Functions as a peer-institution for collaboration on CBDC, payment system modernization, and policy harmonization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RBAInfo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/RBAInfo
• Facebookfacebook.com/ReserveBankAU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reserve-bank-of-australia
• Instagraminstagram.com/reservebankau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Reserve Bank of Australia