Procedures for liaison between the RBA and APCA
On 17 May 2007, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) finalised procedures for liaison on payments policy issues.
APCA was founded in 1992 to set, manage and develop regulations and standards governing payments clearing and settlement within Australia. It has around 80 members who are involved in payments clearing including banks, building societies, credit unions. As a participant in payment systems, the RBA has been a member of APCA since its inception. The RBA has, however, also had special rights of representation, including an automatic right to appoint representatives to the APCA Board and management committees.
APCA has recently completed a strategic review, reinforcing its role as a self-regulatory industry association. Given this role, and the fact that the RBA has formal regulatory powers in respect of the payments system, the RBA has decided to relinquish its special rights of representation on APCA, including its right to a Board seat. The RBA will, however, continue to be represented on a number of APCA committees, although the representation will be from the operational, rather than policy, areas of the RBA.
To help ensure continued close co-operation between the RBA and APCA, the two organisations have agreed a set of liaison procedures. Under the arrangements, senior staff from the RBA will consult with APCA on a regular basis on issues of common interest.
