On the Road to Better Cross-Border Payments: How Is Australia Travelling?

Why It Matters

Improving cost, speed and transparency will boost trade, financial inclusion and Australia’s competitiveness in the global payments ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

• Australia meets access target, but cost exceeds G20 limits
• Non‑bank providers deliver cheaper remittances than major banks
• ISO 20022 adoption slated for full compliance by 2027
• NPP IPS speeds inbound payments, cutting settlement times
• Pacific corridor costs remain high, limiting financial inclusion

Pulse Analysis

The G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross‑border Payments sets ambitious global targets—sub‑1 % cost for retail transfers, 75 % of payments within one hour, and full transparency by 2027. Australia has made steady progress, achieving universal account access and improving price visibility, yet average fees for A$1,000 transfers to advanced economies hover around 4 %, well above the 1 % benchmark. Non‑bank fintechs are narrowing the gap for remittances to developing markets, but overall cost and speed metrics still lag behind the roadmap’s aspirations.

Regulators and industry players are tackling the shortfall through three coordinated initiatives. The ACCC’s updated best‑practice guidance forces all providers to display net foreign‑currency amounts, fees and estimated delivery times, tightening transparency. Simultaneously, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the payments industry are aligning with the CPMI‑driven ISO 20022 standard, with the High‑Value Clearing System and the New Payments Platform slated to meet the harmonised data requirements by the end of 2027. The NPP’s International Payments Service already processes inbound transfers in near‑real‑time, delivering up to 24‑hour speed gains for many corridors.

Despite these advances, challenges remain, especially for the South Pacific region where remittance costs exceed 6 % and provider competition is thin. Ongoing projects such as the Pacific Payments Mechanism and the Nexus Global Payments interlinking scheme aim to aggregate flows and create direct fast‑payment links, potentially lowering fees and expanding access. Looking ahead, the RBA plans to explore wholesale‑level upgrades to RITS and to evaluate digital‑money solutions like tokenised deposits and central‑bank digital currencies, which could further compress settlement times and enhance cross‑border efficiency.