Media Release RITS Consultation and Retail CBDC Update

The RBA today launched a consultation on the Role of RITS in Supporting Settlement in a Tokenised Ecosystem. As highlighted in Project Acacia, tokenisation has the potential to enhance the efficiency, functionality and resilience of Australia’s wholesale financial markets. The consultation seeks views on how the RBA’s settlement services could support the development and growth of tokenised asset markets and tokenised private money in Australia, while continuing to promote safety, efficiency and financial stability. The consultation is one of several initiatives identified in Project Acacia as forming the basis of a future program of work aimed at ensuring Australia’s money, payments and settlement arrangements remain fit for the future. The consultation is open until 30 October 2026.

Alongside this work to support innovation in wholesale finance, the RBA and Treasury have also published Retail Central Bank Digital Currency in the Australian Context: An Update. The report concludes that Australia’s retail payment system is serving households and businesses well, and that there is no clear public interest case for a retail CBDC. This is consistent with the conclusions of the 2024 RBA and Treasury joint paper Central Bank Digital Currency and the Future of Digital Money in Australia. The assessment draws on a public consultation conducted by Verian Group, which asked Australians about their payment needs and views on a potential retail CBDC. The results of this consultation are available in the independent report, Unmet Payment Needs and Digital Money.

Together, these publications form part of the RBA’s broader work in shaping the future of money, and settlement services and ensuring that Australians remain well served by their retail payments system. The RBA continues to work on the wholesale market initiatives identified in Project Acacia. To provide greater visibility into this work, information pertaining to the regulatory, industry and RBA workstreams has now been published online and will be updated periodically.