Instant Domestic Settlement for Global Payments
More than 50 years ago, SWIFT was born. An innovation that replaced the manual writing and reading of messages between banks to facilitate transactions, the SWIFT network now connects over 11,000 financial institutions across 200+ countries.
In 2024, SWIFT reported that 90% of transactions over their network settled within an hour; however, when factoring in the time it takes between the payer initiating the transaction and the payee receiving the funds via their domestic networks, less than half of all transactions clear in an hour.
While SWIFT has come a long way in 50 years, it is still held back by slower domestic payment ecosystems.
Let’s take a deeper look at the new NPP system.
How does the domestic side of international payments work?
An inbound international payment travels along both international and domestic payment rails. In Australia, our domestic payment rails are getting a big update. Here are the key players and products emerging in the market:
- Australian Payments Plus (AP+) is the provider of Australia’s domestic payments services: eftpos, BPAY, Osko, PayID and PayTo. AP+ also operates Australia’s digital identity network, ConnectID.
- New Payments Platform (NPP) was developed by AP+ and is the infrastructure that NPP products sit on top of. These products include PayTo and PayID.
- NPP’s International Payments System (IPS) is the payment rail that handles the domestic side of international payments, for example, settling funds in the recipient’s Australian bank account. It settles funds in near real-time, 24/7/365, as opposed to using Direct Entry which takes one to three business days to settle and is limited by business hours.
Which businesses will benefit from NPP IPS?
Remitters
Remittance is a fast-paced industry with high transaction volumes. Reconciling transactions and ensuring reports are submitted to AUSTRAC are top priorities for keeping the business in good standing.
NPP IPS would have a significantly positive impact on internal business processes for remitters. When remitters enable NPP payments through Monoova, they not only gain near real-time payments 24/7/365, but can also leverage webhook notifications to build their own automated reconciliation flows. These webhooks provide instant visibility into payments as they land, enabling internal teams to detect incomplete transactions or mismatched amounts as they occur.
With NPP IPS via Monoova, they gain all of these benefits for inbound international transactions too.
Payroll
International businesses with employees in Australia have complex payroll requirements. Where the funds for local payroll are supplied from overseas, having those funds move faster presents major benefits to cashflow.
Using APIs, funds can not only be supplied to their Australian entity, but paid out to all employees (including paying their superannuation where applicable) using a much more simplified process.
Once the international leg of the transaction is complete, NPP’s domestic rails have more ways to pay employees, including giving them the option to get paid via PayID rather than bank account and BSB.
Regulation, compliance, and security
Systems that have been around for 50 years are much more well known and established in how people and businesses interact with them. Adopting a new system can be scary, so here are the regulation, compliance, and security measures built into the NPP:
Regulation and compliance
The NPP follows existing regulations and introduces a few new requirements of its own for organisations using its services.
AP+ mandates that the domestic portion of an international transfer must be settled to an Australian bank account using the NPP IPS payment message. A standard domestic NPP payment cannot be used for this purpose. If the IPS message is not used, the transfer must instead be processed via Direct Entry.
Security
NPP payments are subject to the same fraud and security protections used for all internet and mobile banking transactions. On top of this, remitters who access NPP payment rails via Monoova benefit from our transaction monitoring engine, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering monitoring, end-to-end API encryption, and robust near real-time transparency on all payments, in and out.
No matter who you do business with, you’re still responsible for adhering to sanctions and AML regulations.
NPP IPS with Monoova
Remitters and payroll organisations looking to accelerate their international payments can gain access to the NPP IPS via Monoova, and can leverage the Monoova platform to access a full suite of capability including FX, Account to Account payments and the intelligence that underpins these systems in order to manage payment flows at scale.
To find out more about NPP IPS via Monoova, talk to our team.
FAQ
What is NPP IPS in Australia?
NPP IPS settles inbound international transfers instantly into Australian bank accounts, 24/7.
How does Monoova support NPP IPS?
Monoova provides API access, real-time visibility, automated reconciliation, and AML/CTF monitoring.
Who benefits most from IPS?
Remitters and payroll providers needing faster settlement and automation.
Is IPS compliant with Australian regulations?
Yes. IPS follows AP+ rules and supports AML/CTF compliance requirements.
Can IPS automate reconciliation?
Yes. Monoova’s webhooks provide real-time data for automated reconciliation.
