Australia’s real-time payments platform, the NPP, has the capacity, reach and resilience to process superannuation payments. With payday super set to come into effect 1 July 2026, the NPP can help funds reach employee accounts faster and support employers in meeting their obligations under the new legislation.
“AP+ has been working closely with the superannuation industry, the ATO and others to ensure the NPP can easily process superannuation payments, while enabling significant operational efficiencies for all parties involved in the payment flow,” said Katrina Stuart, Executive Sponsor of the Move to NPP program at AP+.
Payday super will help deliver better retirement for employees across Australia in the form of faster and more frequent superannuation payments. Treasury estimates around 8.9 million employees will benefit from higher retirement savings by receiving their superannuation contributions earlier and more frequently.
A number of organisations – including Ozedi, SuperChoice and QuickSuper – are beginning to process or pilot super payments across the NPP and are leveraging these benefits, with more to follow in coming months.1
“The NPP has already brought significant benefits with real-time payments, including with PayID and PayTo, and that real-time payment capability is increasingly expected in business as well,” said Grant Doherty, Managing Director, Qvalent and GTS Digital, Global Transaction Services, Westpac, speaking on a recent AP+ webinar.
“The payments world has rapidly evolved, and with payday super and the BECS decommissioning, it is very clear that there are delays in payment processing that are now unnecessary based on current technology,” added Doherty.
Data-rich payments reduce manual processes and ease reconciliation
In addition to enabling organisations to meet their new obligations under payday super, an important feature of the NPP is its data rich capability.
AP+ is working together with financial institutions to enhance the super payment message to contain all the data that the employer, superannuation intermediaries, super funds and the ATO need to automate manual processes.
This will include a field to identify a superannuation payment as a ‘refund’ making it easier to correct any errors.
“Giving payroll officers the confidence that the payments sent to clearing houses are reconciled, matched and paid to superannuation funds will bring great value for our customers,” said Andrew Callus, Chief Product Officer at SuperChoice, speaking at Beyond Tomorrow, an annual payments industry event hosted by AP+.
“What we’re seeing with the NPP and with the collaboration across the super industry and the ATO is a strong focus on ensuring that the new legislation makes life easier for all those involved in the superannuation payments chain,” said Gaye Morris, Strategic Client Executive and Partner at Mercer Australia, speaking on a recent AP+ webinar on payday super.
“In the medium term, having that additional data around payment errors to help reconciliation will make the payments process that much smoother for employers, while the quicker payment will have a big impact on retirement outcomes for employees,” added Morris.
Coordinated industry action is key to implementing payday super
To ensure the NPP is fit for purpose and meets the needs of all, AP+ has been working closely with industry and government partners.
For example, AP+ is working with Digital Service Providers Australia and New Zealand (DSPANZ), a non-profit industry association representing the business software sector in Australia and New Zealand. DSPANZ members deliver more than 90% of payroll and superannuation data messages and operate business software used by 95% of all employers in Australia. AP+’s work with DSPANZ includes a series of payments working groups to drive awareness, education and discussion on the move to NPP.
“Working with AP+ has been invaluable, offering our members crucial insights into how the NPP can enhance payroll and superannuation processing. Importantly, DSPANZ has been able to engage with banks and PSPs to provide a better understanding of payroll sector payment operations and the technical building blocks we require to be in place to support a successful transition to the NPP,” said Chris Denney, DSPANZ President.
Additionally, the ATO is currently revising the SuperStream Data and Payment Standards to enable employer super contribution payments to be made to super funds via the NPP. This will improve the speed of the payment leg to the super fund.1 AP+ has been working with the ATO and others to ensure the payment and data messages will provide ongoing process improvements for all parties in the superannuation industry.
No bulk solution needed for payday super
It is important to note that the delivery of payday super does not require the implementation of a bulk processing solution on the NPP as all superannuation payments are able to be processed within current NPP capacity and capability.
Businesses can continue to provide a bulk or batch payment file to their financial institution or payment service provider who will process these transactions line by line on the NPP infrastructure.
“We are ready, the NPP is ready, and has the capacity and capability to process all Australian superannuation payments,” said Stuart. “Payday super is coming, and we are ready to support the delivery of this important productivity enhancing reform for the superannuation industry, and to help deliver better retirement outcomes for employees.”
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT NPP AND PAYDAY SUPER
How do I get started on moving to the NPP?
Every business is different, so the exact steps to move to real-time payments can vary depending on factors like the size and complexity of your operations, your existing payments and payroll systems, and the financial institutions or payment service providers you work with. A phased approach can make the transition more manageable and is an approach being adopted by many businesses today.
The best place to start is by speaking with your bank or payment service provider. They can assess your current set-up and guide you through the available options, including how to integrate real-time payments in a way that suits your business needs.
What are the benefits of using the NPP for super payments?
The NPP enables employers to make fast payments 24/7, including on public holidays and weekends, while also providing visibility that payment has been successful, giving employers the confidence that they are meeting their obligations under the new legislation. This visibility also allows for quicker identification and resolution of any unsuccessful payments.
Furthermore, NPP supports account and payee validation to ensure that the funds are being sent to the correct recipient.
Does the NPP have the capacity to handle all Australian superannuation payments?
Yes, the NPP has the capacity and capability today to handle all Australian superannuation payments. To put this in context: in calendar 2024 total employer superannuation contributions totalled AUD144.0 billion2, whereas the NPP transacted over 13x that value over the year, at AUD1.99 trillion. And in terms of volume, it’s estimated that 200 million employer contribution payments are currently made each year3, with this number expected to triple under payday super as the frequency of payments increases. In comparison, the NPP processed 1.63 billion transactions in 2024. AP+ is also ensuring that the NPP will be able to handle future volume growth and will continue to implement additional capacity upgrades.
Can the NPP handle batch files?
All superannuation payments can be processed within current NPP capacity and capabilities. Businesses can continue to provide a bulk or batch payment instruction file to their financial institution or payment service provider who will process these transactions individually on the NPP.
Although it’s not required for payday super, AP+ is working separately with industry on a multi-credit transfer (MCT) service, to allow a batch of single payments to be grouped into a single bulk (MCT) payment message to be made between two financial institutions. This will cater for a small number of use cases of very large bulk files required by a few government and corporate customers.
- NPP can currently be used for these payments by bilateral agreement between the payer and payee. ↩︎
- APRA releases superannuation statistics for December 2024 | APRA ↩︎
- Page 7 GNGB Payday super unpacked 2024_PaydaySuper_v4_web.pd ↩︎
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