The Role of RITS in Supporting Settlement in a Tokenised Ecosystem 1. Introduction

This consultation seeks stakeholder views on how the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS) and the Fast Settlement Service (FSS) can support the development of tokenised finance in Australia. It forms part of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) broader post-Project Acacia work program to support the responsible adoption and scaling of tokenisation in wholesale markets.² The consultation will inform the future direction of the RBA’s central bank settlement services, helping to ensure that they remain capable of supporting innovation while maintaining safety, resilience and efficiency. The RBA seeks feedback on the extent to which the existing capabilities provided by RITS and the FSS can support tokenised finance use cases, and whether (and if so, what) enhancements may be required over time. The focus is on understanding practical settlement, operational and implementation considerations rather than promoting a particular tokenisation model or market structure.

Project Acacia found that some of the benefits of tokenisation could be realised using existing central bank settlement services through synchronisation arrangements linking tokenised platforms to RITS and the FSS. Participants viewed this as a practical and potentially cost-effective pathway to enable the growth of tokenised finance. At the same time, Project Acacia highlighted potential future opportunities associated with tokenised central bank reserves, including enabling enhanced programmability and atomic settlement.³ The project also identified industry interest in the use of central bank reserves as backing assets for Australian dollar-denominated stablecoins. Participants noted that this could enhance confidence in the use of these instruments for settlement in tokenised asset markets by limiting the credit and/or liquidity risk of backing assets.

The RBA is interested in how tokenisation may affect the future provision of settlement services and the role of central bank money in wholesale financial markets. In considering potential enhancements to RITS and the FSS, the RBA is guided by its public policy objectives, including supporting the efficiency, safety and resilience of the payments system; maintaining confidence in settlement through the use of central bank reserves; and promoting arrangements that support financial stability. The RBA is particularly interested in understanding any trade-offs between innovation, interoperability, operational complexity, liquidity efficiency, resilience and access arrangements that may arise as tokenised markets develop.

Consistent with the findings from Project Acacia, the primary focus of this consultation is how synchronisation between tokenised platforms and the existing RBA settlement services could support emerging tokenised finance use cases. The consultation seeks views on how existing services could support implementation in the near term, as well as the capabilities and enhancements that may be needed in the longer term to support the scaling and operational efficiency of tokenised markets as they mature. It also explores the potential role of access to central bank reserves in supporting stablecoin arrangements. In addition, the consultation seeks views on key high-level design considerations relating to the possible issuance of tokenised reserves in the future.⁴

1.1 The role of this consultation in informing future RITS development

The feedback received from this consultation will be one input into the RBA’s broader RITS Modernisation program, a multi-year initiative aimed at ensuring that RITS remains fit for the future. Stakeholder feedback will contribute to the RBA’s assessment of stakeholder needs and priorities in relation to the current RITS environment and the RITS Modernisation program. Accordingly, respondents are encouraged to consider both near-term implementation requirements and the potential for more transformative capabilities that may be needed as tokenised finance matures and scales over time. Broader public consultation on RITS Modernisation is expected in 2027 and may consider a wider set of strategic issues, including settlement services, technology architecture, access arrangements, operating hours, resilience and user experience.

The issues and options presented in this consultation do not represent a commitment by the RBA to make any particular enhancement to current settlement services, to issue tokenised reserves or to extend access to central bank reserves. Given that the smooth operation of RITS plays a critical role in maintaining the safety and stability of the financial system, any significant changes would need to be very carefully considered. Any potential changes to RITS and the FSS, and any future approach to tokenised reserves, would require further technical analysis, policy consideration and stakeholder engagement. Similarly, questions relating to access to central bank reserves will be considered as part of a broader review of the RBA’s Exchange Settlement Account (ESA) Policy, to be undertaken following the passing of the Australian Government’s proposed reforms relating to the regulation of payment service providers, including stablecoin issuers.

1.2 How the consultation aligns with other initiatives

This consultation supports the RBA’s objective of ensuring that interbank settlement services remain efficient and reliable and continue to meet the needs of the payments system while promoting the public interest. It also contributes to the RBA’s strategic priority to shape the future of money in Australia by examining how tokenised assets, tokenised forms of money and supporting infrastructure may enhance wholesale payments and settlement arrangements.

The consultation forms part of a broader program of work, outlined in the Project Acacia Final Report, to support the responsible development and scaling of tokenised finance in Australia. This program includes engagement with industry and regulators to support coordination across the public and private sectors, consideration of experimentation environments for tokenisation use cases, and exploration of how tokenised money and related infrastructure could improve cross-border payments.

The work is being undertaken against a backdrop of rapid global developments in tokenisation and digital asset infrastructure, alongside the Australian Government’s focus on supporting innovation in Australia’s wholesale financial markets.⁵ It also complements other payments system initiatives, including the Vision for Account-to-Account Payments in Australia, which recognises that future payment systems may need to support secure interaction between account-based money and tokenised forms of money while maintaining safety, trust and efficiency.⁶

1.3 Who should respond to the consultation

The RBA welcomes submissions from:

• current and prospective ESA holders with an interest in tokenised asset markets and/or tokenised forms of money
• financial institutions and industry bodies involved in, or interested in, asset tokenisation, financial market infrastructure, or the issuance or use of private forms of tokenised money
• technology providers supporting tokenised finance and related infrastructure
• other stakeholders with an interest in the future role of RITS or FSS in supporting a tokenised financial ecosystem.

In addition to technical design considerations, the RBA is seeking feedback on operational, commercial, risk and governance implications associated with the issues and options presented in this paper. Accordingly, stakeholders with relevant business, operational, technology, risk and policy functions within their organisations are encouraged to coordinate across these functions when preparing submissions. The RBA is particularly interested in understanding implementation, settlement operations, liquidity management, connectivity and workflow considerations from teams that would be responsible for operating these arrangements in production. The RBA also welcomes views on any implications for financial stability and the safe operation of the payments system.

The deadline for submissions is 30 October 2026.

The RBA welcomes engagement with stakeholders throughout the consultation period. All enquiries and submissions should be directed to TokenisationSettlementConsultation@rba.gov.au.

1.4 The structure of this consultation paper

This consultation paper is structured as follows:

• Chapter 2 outlines the existing services provided by RITS and the FSS, including a high-level overview of settlement services and arrangements for submitting settlement instructions.
• Chapter 3 considers how tokenised asset platforms could be synchronised with RITS and the FSS to support DvP settlement in central bank reserves.
• Chapter 4 considers how RITS and the FSS could support at-par exchange between traditional bank accounts and tokenised private money, and between tokenised private money issued by different institutions.
• Chapter 5 seeks to understand the role of potential access to central bank reserves for stablecoin issuers.
• Chapter 6 seeks views on key high-level design considerations relating to the potential issuance of tokenised central bank reserves.
• Chapter 7 outlines the submission process and next steps.

Appendices A to C provide additional information on RITS and FSS services, an overview of international approaches, and the consultation response template, respectively.