The Role of RITS in Supporting Settlement in a Tokenised Ecosystem Appendix A – RITS and FSS functionality
Consultation Paper
September 2026
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Existing feeder systems, batches and LVSS
| Typical existing transaction types | Parties submitting instructions to RITS | Settlement process | Operating hours41 | Connectivity | Messaging types | Settlement notifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RITS User Interface | RITS Cash Transfers | Payer participant (or its settlement agent) | RTGS (RITS System Queue) | Institutional payments: 7:30–22:00 |
Internet or ASX Net (operated by ASX) | n/a | Settlement outcomes available in RITS UI |
| Austraclear | Debt securities transactions settled in the Austraclear System | Austraclear System, on behalf of participants | RTGS (RITS System Queue) | Institutional payments: 7:30–18:30 (AEST)/20:30 (AEDT) Client payments: 9:15–16:30 |
Direct link to RITS | Proprietary | Austraclear notified of settlement outcome. Payer and payee banks may elect to receive settlement notifications |
| Swift PDS42 | High-value payments exchanged through HVCS | Payer participant (or its settlement agent) | RTGS (RITS System Queue) | Institutional and client payments: 9:15–16:30 Institutional payments between authorised ESA holders can also be input 16:30–18:05 (AEST)/20:05 (AEDT) |
SwiftNet InterAct (Y-Copy) | ISO 20022 messages under AusPayNet HVCS Usage Guidelines (UG2025), aligned with HVPS+ market practice | Payer and payee bank notified of settlement outcome |
| Adapted CHESS-RTGS Feeder | Transactions generated by external systems requiring settlement on an RTGS basis in central bank reserves | Operator of the relevant external system (although, depending on the system design, participants could potentially submit instructions directly). | RTGS (RITS System Queue) | Institutional and client payments: 9:15–16:30 | Swift FIN service, but being upgraded to Swift InterAct | Swift Message Type (MT) messages, but being upgraded to ISO 20022 | Party submitting instruction to RITS is notified of settlement outcome |
| NPP43 | Retail payments exchanged through the NPP (and potentially high-value transaction types where appropriate liquidity arrangements are in place) | Payer participant (or its settlement agent) | RTGS (FSS) | 24/7/365 | NPP Basic Infrastructure (a domestic Swift network) | ISO 20022 messages under AP+ implementation guidelines | Payer and payee bank notified of settlement outcome |
| Settlement-only Batches44 | Obligations arising in external systems, including CHESS and some card schemes | Batch administrator (the operator of the relevant payment or asset system, or an agent acting on its behalf) submits multilaterally netted obligations on behalf of participants | Batch settlement (RITS System Queue) | Settlement once per day, 7:30–16:30. May be configured to settle multiple times per day |
Swift FIN, but being upgraded to Swift InterAct | Swift Message Type (MT) messages but being upgraded to ISO 20022 | Batch administrator notified of settlement outcome. Participants may elect to receive settlement advices. Batch administrator can identify paying participants who are not ready to settle |
| Reservation Batches45 | Obligations arising in systems supporting DvP settlement of property transactions (e.g. PEXA and Sympli) | Batch administrator (the operator of the relevant payment or asset system, or an agent acting on its behalf) submits multilaterally netted obligations on behalf of participants | Funds reservation and subsequent settlement (RITS System Queue) | 7:30–18:05 (AEST)/ 20:05 (AEDT) | COIN, administered by AusPayNet | Proprietary XML-formatted messages | Batch administrator notified of reservation and settlement outcomes. Participants may elect to receive settlement advices |
| LVSS46 | Low-value payment obligations, including direct entry (BECS) and some card scheme transactions | Participants in the relevant payment system (or agents acting on their behalf) submit bilateral settlement instructions | Settlement of individual instructions OR settlement as part of a group of transactions based on multilaterally net funding requirements (RITS System Queue) | Some payment types settle 8:45–9:15
AEST/AEDT Direct entry payments also settle at 5 other times during the day, starting at: 10:45, 13:45, 16:45, 19:15 and 21:15 AEST/AEDT |
COIN, administered by AusPayNet, or Swift FileAct | Proprietary format XML files | Participants (both as originator of the instruction and as the counterparty) can elect to receive confirmation of settlement |
Joining a feeder or batch system
| Operator | ESA holders | Synchronisation operators | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austraclear | Austraclear | ESA holders wishing to settle transactions through the Austraclear feeder must be direct settling participants in Austraclear (i.e. be set up to act as their own participating bank). | Conceptually, other synchronisation operators seeking to use this settlement pathway would need to establish arrangements with Austraclear under which transactions originating on those systems could be represented and settled via Austraclear members’ accounts on the books of Austraclear (and so submitted to RITS via the Austraclear feeder). |
| Swift PDS | AusPayNet | ESA holders wishing to use the Swift PDS must become members of the HVCS and of the Swift closed user group administered by AusPayNet. They must also have the necessary Swift infrastructure. | Synchronisation operators may not require direct membership of the Swift PDS, as payment messages and settlement instructions could be sent by participating financial institutions. |
| NPP | AP+ | ESA holders wishing to use the NPP must become direct participants in the NPP administered by AP+ and have the necessary NPP infrastructure. | Synchronisation operators wishing to use the NPP to settle transactions arising in their systems may not need to join the NPP, as payments could be sent by the participating financial institutions. However, they may wish to join the NPP (or have a commercial relationship with) a ‘Connected Institution’ which can send payment initiation instructions to NPP participants to process payments.47 |
| Batch | RBA | ESA holders wishing to participate in batch settlement must become direct participants in the relevant payment or settlement system. | Synchronisation operators wishing to use batches must apply to become a batch administrator (or appoint an agent to be a batch administrator on their behalf) to submit multilaterally netted settlement batches to RITS. The RBA has an established framework of eligibility, application and ongoing operational requirements for batch administrators, which is designed to ensure that entities performing this role have the capabilities to support safe, efficient and reliable settlement outcomes.48 At a high level, RBA requires batch administrators to demonstrate appropriate operational, financial and governance capabilities to administer a batch settlement service, including the ability to submit settlement positions to RITS and manage associated risks. Applicants must satisfy the RBA that they can perform the role on an ongoing basis and, if approved, must become RITS members, and comply with the RITS regulatory framework and agreed operational and contingency procedures. |
| LVSS | RBA | ESA holders wishing to submit settlement instructions via the LVSS would need to apply to the RBA to join this service. They would also have to join the COIN or Swift FileAct service. | Synchronisation operators wishing to use the LVSS would need to demonstrate capabilities similar to those for batch administrators above. If the synchronisation operator wishes to act as an LVSS agent and submit instructions on behalf of participants, it would need to apply to the RBA to join the service, and join the COIN or Swift FileAct service. |
| Adapted CHESS-RTGS Feeder or New Feeder | New feeder system operator | ESA holders wishing to use a new feeder would need to become direct settling participants of the feeder system operator. | Synchronisation operators wishing to become new feeder system operators would need to engage with the RBA to discuss the setting up of a new feeder system to RITS. Eligibility criteria may be similar to those for batch administrators. |
Endnotes
41 Unless otherwise indicated, the operating times indicated refer to days when banks are generally open for business in Sydney and Melbourne. For further information, see RBA (n.d.), ‘RITS Business Hours’, Website.
42 For further details, see RBA (2025), ‘RITS/SWIFT Interface User Guide’, November.
43 For further details, see RBA, n 42 above.
44 For further information, see RBA, n 10 above; RBA (2017), ‘RITS Batch Administration User Guide’, November; and RBA (2019), ‘RITS Batch Participant User Guide’, December.
45 For further information, see the references at n 44 above.
46 For further details on LVSS, see RBA, n 13 above.
47 See AP+ (n.d.), ‘Ways to Access the Platform’, Website.
48 RBA, n 21 above.