What Australian Payments Network does

Australian Payments Network Limited (AusPayNet) is the self-regulatory industry body for the Australian payments system, established in February 1992 as the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) and rebranded to its current name in June 2017. It convenes more than 160 member and participant organizations across four membership categories — participant members (financial institutions directly participating in clearing), operator members (payment system operators and technology companies), affiliate members (suppliers to issuers, acquirers, and schemes), and payment service provider members (fintechs and non-bank PSPs) — to coordinate payment standards, rules, and infrastructure modernization. Its mandate covers Cards, Cash, Cheques, Direct Entry, High Value Clearing System, e-Conveyancing Payments, and the COIN (Community of Interest Network), a high-availability managed virtual private network that provides multilateral secure transmission of payment files between participants and is being upgraded with Transaction Network Services Australia (TNS) for redundant dual-carrier connectivity. The Common Payments Network (CPN) extends COIN to interwork with SWIFT FileAct and the RBA's clearing interconnector.

AusPayNet's core technology portfolio also includes payment-oversight programs such as the CNP Fraud Mitigation Framework, Tokenisation initiative, AES Migration, BECS Transition, Cheques Transition, and ISO 20022 migration, alongside standards on ATM Access and Payment Service Provider Porting. It supported the governance and industry collaboration underpinning the New Payments Platform (NPP) launched in February 2018 and currently co-leads the A2A Payments Roundtable with the Reserve Bank of Australia, Commonwealth Treasury, and Australian Payments Plus, releasing a draft vision in April 2026 covering tokenized money, stablecoins, digital IDs, and digital wallets. The organization publishes authoritative industry data — Annual Review (1992-present), Payments Monitor (quarterly), Digital Economy Milestones, Fraud Statistics, and Cross-Border Payments Round-Up — and engages in international standards work via ISO/TC 307 and the P7 Think Tank.

Revenue is generated through membership fees across the four member categories (subscription/recurring model), with no commercial product pricing to end customers. Distribution is exclusively domestic via membership participation, COIN network connectivity, public consultations, and standards representation. Headcount is 11-50 employees, led by CEO Andy White, Chief Strategy Officer Victoria Richardson, Emerging Technology Lead Nick Cliff, and Head of Payments Innovation Lucy Anderson, with governance provided by a board including directors from National Australia Bank, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie Bank, and credit union representatives.

Name

Australian Payments Network

Legal name

Australian Payments Network Limited

Website

https://auspaynet.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Australian Payments Network is the self-regulatory industry body for Australia's payments system, convening 160+ members to coordinate payment frameworks, the COIN network, fraud mitigation, and standards such as ISO 20022 and A2A infrastructure modernization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payments Network Governance

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Payouts, Disbursements & Mass Payments Infrastructure (FSAGABAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cross-Border FX, Multi-Currency & Treasury for Payments (FSAGABAK), Domestic / National Card Schemes (FSAMAAAC), Cross-Border & FX Payments Platforms (BPAMAFAK)

Keywords

• Payments network governance
• Payment systems coordination
• Industry self-regulation
• Payment fraud mitigation
• Financial messaging infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: AusPayNet is funded through membership fees from its diverse membership base which includes participant members (organisations directly participating in the payments system), operator members (commercial operators of payment systems, technology companies), affiliate members (suppliers to card issuers, acquirers and schemes), and payment service provider members (technology companies facilitating electronic payment functions). The exact fee structure is not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet) is a member-based, self-regulatory industry body that manages and coordinates Australia's core payment frameworks and infrastructure. It operates the COIN (Community of Interest Network) for secure multilateral payment file transmission and provides rules, standards, fraud mitigation, and industry collaboration services to financial institutions, payment operators, and fintechs across the Australian payments ecosystem.

Product overview

AusPayNet operates a platform comprising multiple interconnected core payment frameworks and industry initiatives. The core infrastructure is anchored by the COIN (Community of Interest Network), a high-availability managed network for secure multilateral transmission of payment files between participants. Around this, the organisation coordinates payment frameworks for Cards, Cash, Cheques, Direct Entry, High Value payments, and e-Conveyancing. Supporting these frameworks are industry initiatives including the CNP Fraud Mitigation Framework, Tokenisation, AES Migration, BECS Transition, and Cheques Transition programmes, alongside Standards work on ATM Access and Portability. The portfolio is complemented by a publications suite covering Fraud Statistics, the Annual Review, Payments Monitor (quarterly), Digital Economy Reports, and Cross-Border Payments Round-Up.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COIN (Community of Interest Network)

Quantifiable outcome

• Card transactions totalled approximately $714.5 billion in FY2017, with fraud representing only 0.074% of total transaction value. CNP fraud represents over 80% of all fraud on Australian cards.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2026AusPayNet is a member of the Account-to-Account (A2A) Payments Roundtable alongside the RBA, Commonwealth Treasury, and Australian Payments Plus. The Roundtable released a draft vision in April 2026 for the future of A2A payments in Australia, with consultation closing May 22, 2026. The RBA and AusPayNet also cooperate on cross-border payments improvement aligned with G20 Roadmap, ISO 20022 migration, NPP oversight, and Payment System Board initiatives. The RBA serves as the payments regulator while AusPayNet provides industry coordination.
• Australian Payments Plus (AP+)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2026AusPayNet and AP+ are joint members of the A2A Payments Roundtable developing the vision for future account-to-account payment infrastructure in Australia. The two organizations also conducted a joint public consultation on the A2A payments vision (November 2025). AP+ operates the New Payments Platform (NPP) and Osko overlay service.
• Commonwealth TreasurycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2026The Commonwealth Treasury participates in the A2A Payments Roundtable alongside AusPayNet, RBA, and Australian Payments Plus, shaping the long-term strategic direction for Australia's A2A payments system. Treasury engagement covers policy development, regulatory reform, and government payment system priorities.
• Transaction Network Services Australia (TNS)coreTechnology or IntegrationTNS provides the COIN network service with a highly diversified, highly redundant dual-carrier network as of 2024. This partnership ensures the COIN's operational reliability, enhanced speed, and security for the transmission of payment files between all payments participants.
• SWIFTcoreTechnology or IntegrationSWIFT is part of the Common Payments Network (CPN) alongside the COIN and the RBA Network Interconnector. SWIFT FileAct Service enables payments traffic to pass between the COIN and SWIFT networks, connecting Australia's domestic payment infrastructure with international payment messaging.
• NPP AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusPayNet was instrumental in the early development of the New Payments Platform (NPP) in terms of industry collaboration, governance, and structure. NPP Australia operates the NPP infrastructure and its overlay services including Osko and PayID. The NPP launched publicly in February 2018 carrying real-time payments between participating financial institutions.
• BPAYcoreTechnology or IntegrationBPAY operates the Osko overlay service on the NPP, providing near-instant person-to-person mobile payments. COIN provides the network for BPAY bill payments. AusPayNet facilitates collaboration between BPAY and the broader payment ecosystem.
• Standards Australia (ISO/TC 307 Leadership)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusPayNet participates in ISO/TC 307 Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies through Nick Cliff (Emerging Technology Lead) who contributes to the Identity stream. Standards Australia leads the international technical committee, and AusPayNet supports industry participation in shaping blockchain standards. AusPayNet also participates in the Digital Transaction Technologies Forum convened by Standards Australia.
• P7 Think Tank (APAC Payments Organisations)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusPayNet initiated and hosts the P7 Think Tank, an APAC and Pacific rim collaboration involving seven prominent payment organisations that meet annually to exchange insights on payment trends, innovation, challenges, and emerging strategic themes.
• International Council of Payment Association Chief Executives (ICPACE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICPACE brings together CEOs of payment associations from around the world (Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, US, and Australia) annually to share insights and best practice. AusPayNet hosted the annual meeting in February 2017 in Sydney.
• FinTech AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusPayNet supports the Australian Payments Council's cross-industry hackathon (August 2017) co-organised with FinTech Australia, bringing together financial institutions and fintechs. The hackathon used the Open Bank Project's sandbox with test data emulating real transactions and over 130 standard banking APIs. 22 teams with 120+ participants competed in Melbourne and Sydney.
• Australian Government - Digital Transformation Agency (DTA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusPayNet supports the Australian Payments Council in its work on digital identity, collaborating with the DTA's GovPass (Trusted Digital Identity Framework) initiative. The GovPass project includes standards for accreditation, an identity exchange, and a single Commonwealth identity.
• Australian Government - Black Economy TaskforcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusPayNet participates in the Australian Government Black Economy Taskforce, which investigates economic activity outside the formal tax system and considers the role of cash in the economy. AusPayNet contributes expertise on digital payment transition and cash decline trends.
• Reserve Bank of Australia (CNP Fraud Initiative)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn cooperation with the RBA, AusPayNet hosted a CNP Fraud Accelerator Forum in February 2018 bringing together 70+ participants from 60+ organizations including financial institutions, retailers, card schemes, payment gateways, payment service providers, regulators and industry bodies. Participants committed to developing an industry framework within 6 months for reducing CNP fraud, which accounts for over 80% of all fraud on Australian cards.
• Transport for NSW (TfNSW)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusPayNet collaborated with TfNSW to develop the Open Loop Transport Payments Framework enabling contactless (EMV) payments on public transport. The framework was piloted on the Manly Ferry (July 2017) and expanded to all Sydney Ferries and L1 Dulwich Hill Light Rail (March 2018). AusPayNet also worked with Queensland, Victoria, and WA on similar transport payment initiatives.
• Commonwealth Government - Open Banking ReviewcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusPayNet responded to the Government Issues Paper on the Review into Open Banking in Australia (2017), highlighting that an open banking regime should be underpinned by a robust governance framework. The Government accepted the recommendation for a Consumer Data Right to be implemented in banking and rolled out to other sectors.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PCI Security Standards Council: Industry standards body that develops payment card industry security standards (PCI DSS, PTS). Comparable as a payment-industry-driven standards organisation that convenes stakeholders around security and compliance frameworks.
• Pay.UK: UK payment systems operator running Faster Payments, Bacs, and Image Clearing System under a similar industry-led governance model. Directly comparable in role of setting payment rules and operating clearing infrastructure on behalf of the ecosystem.
• Payments Canada: Canadian self-regulatory industry body that operates the country's core payment clearing and settlement infrastructure (Lynx, Automated Clearing Settlement System). Closest international analogue to AusPayNet's structure and mandate.
• The Clearing House (TCH): US banking association that operates RTP (Real-Time Payments), CHIPS (high-value), and ACH. Comparable as a member-owned payments infrastructure operator and industry coordinating body in the world's largest payments market.
• Australian Payments Plus (AP+): Joint member with AusPayNet on the A2A Payments Roundtable and operator of the New Payments Platform (NPP), Osko, and PayID. The most directly comparable organisation, distinguished primarily by being an operator of payment infrastructure rather than a co-regulatory industry body.

Emerging players

• European Payments Initiative (EPI): European initiative to build a unified digital payment solution across European banks. Comparable as a multi-stakeholder, industry-led effort to coordinate next-generation payment infrastructure, though EPI is a for-profit venture while AusPayNet is a member body.

Broad incumbents

• SWIFT: Operates the global financial messaging network and FileAct service, which AusPayNet integrates with via the Common Payments Network (CPN). Comparable as a multilateral payments messaging utility, though at much larger international scale.
• Federal Reserve Banks (Fedwire / FedNow): Operates Fedwire Funds Service and FedNow real-time rail in the US, the central public-sector analogue to AusPayNet's HVCS and the planned A2A rail. Bigger scope and public mandate, but provides comparable wholesale and emerging retail payment infrastructure.
• Bank of England (RTGS / CHAPS): Operates the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system and CHAPS high-value payment infrastructure in the UK. Analogous to AusPayNet's HVCS and overall coordination role with the central bank, but at the central bank level rather than as a self-regulatory body.

Regional players

• Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS) — RBA: RBA-operated real-time gross settlement system for Australian high-value payments. Closely tied to AusPayNet via the Common Payments Network and co-regulatory partnership; in some senses the upstream infrastructure AusPayNet's HVCS framework complements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/auspaynet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/79255

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Australian Payments Network