An anti-money laundering fintech project, focused on cryptocurrency transactions, has been approved for a $2.3 million grant under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) Grants program.

The project, which has been submitted and will be led by Australian Securities Exchange(ASX)-listed fintech company Novatti, is valued at a total of $6.1 million. This amount covers cash and in-kind commitments by collaboration partners, alongside $2.3 million kicked in from the Federal Government, the firm said in the announcement to the ASX.

The project – a collaboration between the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Hashkloud Pty Ltd, Thankq Solutions Pty Ltd and Swyftx Pty Ltd – will run between 5 January and 30 November 2025, with the first $830,000 due for reimbursement by 30 June this year.

A key priority of the project is to develop a “digital platform consisting of novel anti-fraud and anti-money laundering techniques, to align cryptocurrency transactions with traditional payment options such as credit cards”. The goal, according to the project partners, is to enable consumers, merchants and exchanges to acquire, verify and transfer crypto with trust and scalability while conducting daily business.

The CRC-P Grant funding will run through to 30 November 2025.

“Concerns over cybersecurity have greatly increased over recent years where it has become the most critical corporate risk. There is a growing need to develop innovative new solutions that can prevent fraud and money laundering in the digital space and with Novatti’s fintech and regtech suite, we are well positioned to address these risks,” said Novatti managing director Peter Cook.

“Through this collaborative project, and with the support of Government funding, we are seeking to provide an innovative solution that can mitigate these risks and, hence, enable digital asset transactions to support long-term growth in Novatti’s financial transactions and payments revenues.”

Government CRC-P Grants provide short-term funding for research collaborations. The program supports industry-led research collaborations that must develop a product, service or process designed to solve real-world problems and deliver real outcomes for industry, benefit small to medium enterprises (SMEs), and include education and training activities.