ANZ has announced a major extension of its Express Payments facility, enabling more than 400 international banks, including non-ANZ customers, to route inbound cross-border payments through Australia’s domestic real-time payments network, the New Payments Platform (NPP).

ANZ Express Payments, which went live in July this year, will now enable all international banks sending cross-border AUD payments into Australia via ANZ’s Clearing Services to direct payments through the NPP’s 24/7 fast payments rails (enabling beneficiaries to receive payments in near-real time).

To do so, these payments must meet ANZ’s requirements for NPP processing, which include payment formatting standards and a current value cap of AUD$500.

This initial payment value threshold of AUD$500 will allow close monitoring of transaction flows, ANZ said, though plans are afoot to increase this value in the future via a staged rollout.

ANZ managing director of transaction banking, Lisa Vasic said “the activation of ANZ Express Payments for all AUD Clearing Services customers marks a significant step in our rollout of the Express Payments system”.

She added: “ANZ is proud to be a leader in international and cross-border payments and this change means Australians can benefit from ANZ’s investment in technology, even if they don’t bank with ANZ.”

ANZ said it would support international banks in adjusting to changes in funding and liquidity which may arise due to 7-day payment processing.

With its launch in July this year, ANZ notes that it was the first major Australian bank to execute a cross-border transaction in near-real time, executing its the first transaction for BNP Paribas on 2 July 2024. This payment was transacted via SWIFT, which was then processed and cleared by ANZ into the NPP network.

ANZ notes that its Express Payments, which was developed in-house by the bank, facility aligns fully with the G20 roadmap for improving cross-border payments.

Earlier this year, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which oversees G20 priorities for cross-border payments, announced it had completed a key phase of its cross-border fast payments connectivity initiative, Project Nexus.

ANZ is among the market leaders in Australia for wholesale clearing services, and is the largest Australian dollar clearing bank in Australia.