The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced on 28 May 2010 that the Payments System Board (PSB) would undertake a strategic review of innovation in the Australian payments system. A consultation document is to be released by mid-2011 with conclusions finalised by the end of 2011.
Taking a medium-term perspective, the review will investigate trends and developments overseas as well as identify potential gaps in innovation within the Australian payments system. This process will include a stock take of domestic and overseas payments innovation.
The impending review aligns well with collaborative research and debate that has been going on for some time in Australia, more recently under the auspices of the Australian Payments Forum (APF). The APF, a venue for industry debate on payment system policy and direction, considered the topic of innovation in Australian payments back in March 2009. For this session, APCA commissioned global research on payments innovation and competitive evolution from Edgar Dunn.
The work of the APF gives Australia good marks for payment product innovation in a competitive marketplace. It also highlights the challenges of structural innovation where competing industry providers need to engage on developments that improve the overall system. APCA will share the findings of this work with the PSB as part of its review.
More information can be found at RBA and APCA.