The Reserve Bank of Australia has issued a scathing report card on banks’ planning for switching off the economy’s most critical payment system – the one that processes almost $18 trillion in company payroll, superannuation and government welfare – and demanded better co-ordination on the project to migrate to a new system by 2030.

RBA assistant governor Brad Jones said any serious disruption to debit payments made from one bank account to another “has the potential to undermine confidence in the financial system”.