Australia’s domestic payments system is preparing for a future where stablecoins and tokenized fiat currency become integral to how money moves. A draft vision released by the Account-to-Account Payments Roundtable, co-developed by AusPayNet, Australian Payments Plus, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Commonwealth Treasury, identifies digital assets as a key external force that could reshape account-to-account (A2A) payment rails.
Tokenized money moves from experimentation to adoption
The draft document notes that tokenized forms of money, including stablecoins and tokenized liabilities, are transitioning from pilot projects to broader use. This shift reflects a move toward programmable, ledger-based value that could enable new settlement models, continuous availability and more automated execution of payments. The consultation suggests that Australia’s payments planners are beginning to treat tokenized money as a design consideration for mainstream payment infrastructure, rather than a niche experiment.
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Specifically, the document states that A2A systems “may need to support secure interoperability between account-based money and tokenised representations of fiat currency,” allowing reliable movement of funds between those environments while maintaining trust. This interoperability is seen as essential for ensuring that digital assets can coexist with traditional payment methods without introducing systemic risk.
Broader tokenization work underway
The A2A consultation aligns with Australia’s ongoing efforts to advance tokenization, stablecoin regulation and digital asset frameworks. In July 2025, the RBA and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre announced selected use cases for Project Acacia, a wholesale digital money project exploring settlement in tokenized asset markets. Proposed settlement assets for the project include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, a pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) and new ways of using banks’ existing exchange settlement accounts at the RBA.
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On March 25, RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones emphasized that the next phase of financial system innovation would require moving beyond short-term pilots toward longer-term, staged environments where industry and regulators can test new technologies and adjust policy settings. He highlighted the interaction of wholesale CBDC with bank deposit tokens and stablecoins, as well as the synchronization of tokenized asset ledgers with Australia’s settlement infrastructure, as areas of particular interest.
Regulatory framework takes shape
Australia has also moved to bring parts of the digital asset sector into its financial services framework. In November, the Treasury proposed digital asset laws that would introduce two new financial products: digital asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms. These entities would be required to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence, bringing them under the same regulatory umbrella as traditional financial institutions.
The draft payments vision and accompanying regulatory work signal that Australian authorities are treating digital assets not as a passing trend but as a structural shift in the financial system. For businesses and consumers, this could mean faster, more programmable payment options in the future, though significant work remains on technical standards, liability frameworks and risk management.
Conclusion
Australia’s draft payments vision represents a significant step toward integrating stablecoins and tokenized fiat into the country’s payment infrastructure. By focusing on interoperability and regulatory clarity, policymakers are laying the groundwork for a system where digital assets can coexist with traditional money. The coming months will be critical as the consultation period closes and concrete policy decisions are made.
FAQs
Q1: What is the Account-to-Account Payments Roundtable?
The Roundtable is a collaborative body co-developed by AusPayNet, Australian Payments Plus, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Commonwealth Treasury. It is responsible for drafting a vision for Australia’s domestic A2A payment systems.
Q2: Why is stablecoin interoperability important for Australia’s payment system?
Interoperability ensures that stablecoins and tokenized fiat can move seamlessly between different payment platforms and traditional bank accounts, maintaining trust and reliability while enabling new programmable payment models.
Q3: What is Project Acacia?
Project Acacia is a wholesale digital money project led by the RBA and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre. It explores settlement in tokenized asset markets using assets like stablecoins, bank deposit tokens and a pilot wholesale CBDC.
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