Heading towards real-time payment advantages

Jeff Byrne

Apr 8, 2025 – 8.05am

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Consumer uptake of real-time payments is at ubiquity, leaving many businesses to play catch-up with their customers, while the NSW government has taken the lead to become an innovative frontrunner across the Australian economy.

The state is actively considering the value of real time payment capabilities to support its services delivery to NSW’s 8+ million citizens. Where many organisations see complexity, it has demonstrated remarkable foresight for the opportunities emerging from the massive transformation of Australia’s payments system.

Jeff Byrne, managing director, global transaction services, Westpac institutional bank.

The drive to real-time is accelerating with the winding down of cheques by 2029 and plans to switch off batch payments from the Bulk Electronic Clearing System, better known as BECS, in 2030.

With careful strategic progression, the state government has already reduced its cheque use by over 70 per cent and made moves towards payment channel enablement to take advantage of real time capability. Yes, so soon, but – all things considered – not before time.

An early milestone was the adoption of digital payments in NSW government schools in the Department of Education. Another step forward has been the platform standardisation and simplification approach with agencies aiming to simplify the government’s shared services, saving thousands of hours of administration and untold dollars for the public purse.

That was the precursor to prescient shifts toward real-time payments at Service NSW where, behind the scenes, Westpac has been supporting moves to real-time readiness so faster payments can be deployed across other state government agencies and, importantly, to the citizens of NSW.

NSW is transforming the way services are accessed and utilised with faster, more secure payments for things like driver’s licences and car registrations, ensuring social procurement policies are met for small businesses and, vitally, funding for communities in times of need – maximising liquidity deployment through centralised pooling, making sure the State’s funds are used to support critical programs every day.

Westpac’s partnership with the NSW government draws on an almost 200-year relationship of financial stability and innovation, renewed with its reappointment as a leading banking partner from April 1.

This partnership has navigated challenging economic times to maintain the state’s financial resilience, for example working to optimise the balance sheet during COVID lockdowns, the devastating bushfires of 2019-20, the floods of 2022, and most recently readying systems for action as Cyclone Alfred approached Australia’s east coast.

Westpac is a market leader in real-time transformation helping clients to prepare and address strategic needs through the stages of transition.

Lynne Cardwell, NSW Treasury’s executive director for banking and financial services, stated that “Westpac has played an important role in supporting the modernisation of payments for NSW government and its citizens and we see the extension of this relationship as foundational on our transition to real time”.

The NSW government is the exemplar for real-time readiness, now connected to Westpac’s single-entry points for payments and receivables – the Payments Plus and Quickstream platforms – that cover legacy or traditional payments and real-time capabilities. Channel-alignment is the first stage in the transition.

Stage two brings the optionality to use either a legacy capability or real-time capability to meet the needs of the changing times. The NSW government is now turning on NPP capabilities for PayTo, the real-time alternative to direct debits, and Bulk OSKO for emergency payments.

Stage three is where real-time payments deliver outstanding advantages including liquidity benefits and 24/7 cash flow visibility. We’re excited to be on the frontline providing support and expertise as this stage unfolds.

Under our latest five-year agreement, Westpac is continuing to provide transaction banking, merchant acquiring and liquidity management services, and has been contracted to support transit payments across NSW, along with commercial credit cards, including real-time dynamic virtual cards.

We will continue to help government departments and agencies become future-ready through the rapid modernisation of our payments system.

And lessons learned? The key to success for larger organisations, in particular, is to start transitioning early. The switch to real-time takes forethought and planning, a well-designed strategy, and education for employees. It needs a long runway.

Benefits include competitive edge – we call it “the real-time advantage” – with the ability to deliver faster on customer expectations, not to mention improved efficiencies and the greater transparency the real-time era’s rapid movement of money can deliver to treasury functions.

The payoff comes sooner with proactivity. But we’re seeing a broad range of maturity among organisations. Some are moving now because they see the value, others are eyeing the timeline and treating it more as a compliance exercise. Organisations need to find their mojo around the opportunities.

Our partnership with NSW government is not only helping to make payments more inclusive, faster, and safer for citizens, but also supporting the government as it works to solve complex issues for the people and businesses of NSW.

Jeff Byrne is managing director, global transaction services, Westpac institutional bank.

To find out more, please visit westpac.com.au/realtimepayments.