RBA 2026 RITS Assessment: What It Means for Australian PSPs and Banks
Updated September 2026
Final settlement of many Australian dollar interbank obligations occurs across Exchange Settlement Accounts at the Reserve Bank, accessed through RITS. When RITS-related services are disrupted, some file-based payments and property settlements can miss normal processing windows. On 27 January 2026 that is roughly what happened, and the Reserve Bank’s 2026 RITS assessment, released on 19 June 2026, now records the consequences in the language of international standards: three principles downgraded or held at partly observed.
For any institution that depends on RITS to settle, the assessment is not a filing obligation. What it changes is the risk picture: where the Reserve Bank believes its operational and governance gaps sit, and by when it intends to close them.
Related reading: APRA’s APS 210 treatment of deposits with settlement service providers.
What RITS is and why the RBA RITS assessment matters
RITS, the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System, is Australia’s real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. The Reserve Bank owns and operates it, and final, irrevocable settlement happens through the simultaneous crediting and debiting of Exchange Settlement Accounts (ESAs) held at the RBA. High-value interbank payments, debt securities, the net obligations from low-value clearing, and cross-border legs through CLS all settle there.
Because it sits at the centre of the payment system, the Reserve Bank treats RITS as a systemically important payments system and assesses it against the CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI). A detailed assessment runs every two years, in line with CPMI-IOSCO guidance. The 2026 assessment measured RITS against the relevant principles as at 31 March 2026 and was approved by the Payments System Board, the same body that sets the RBA’s wider June 2026 payments agenda.
One distinction trips people up. The PFMI assessment is the Reserve Bank holding its own infrastructure to a standard. Participating banks complete nothing and file nothing as a result. The reporting consequence runs the other way: if you rely on RITS, the assessment is supervisory intelligence about a dependency already on your books.
The three principles rated partly observed
The headline finding is that RITS observes all relevant PFMI as at 31 March 2026 with three exceptions. Principle 2 (Governance) was downgraded to partly observed, having been rated higher in 2024. Principle 3 (Framework for the comprehensive management of risks) and Principle 17 (Operational risk) both remained at partly observed.
On governance, the concern is that RITS-specific arrangements need to ensure RITS is consistently recognised and managed across the entire RBA as a systemically important payments system, an accountability theme running through APRA’s parallel governance reform for regulated entities. On risk management, the assessment states RITS does not yet have a standalone risk profile befitting its systemic importance. On operational risk, it points to slower-than-expected progress on prior recommendations, compounded by gaps the January 2026 incident exposed.
Partly observed under the PFMI rating scale signals identified gaps that warrant high-priority remediation.
The January 2026 incident behind the operational-risk rating
On the morning of 27 January 2026, a technology outage stopped some RBA payment settlement services, including file-based payments and property settlements. The issue began around 10:30 am; file exchange services were progressively restored from about 5:20 pm. The Fast Settlement Service was not affected. A subsequent issue delayed PEXA property settlements, and the settlement day was extended to 10:45 pm to let around 500 outstanding property transactions complete.
The assessment traces the root cause to an incorrectly installed intermediate certificate on the database, with procedures not followed and knowledge gaps present. The Reserve Bank notes the incident means RITS will not meet its publicly stated operational reliability objective of at least 99.95 per cent availability in 2026, even if nothing else goes wrong this year.
The remediation programme and the March 2028 assessment target
The assessment carries forward recommendations from the 2022 and 2023 series, each tied to one or more of the three principles. Several target a formally documented RITS operating model, a strengthened RITS risk management framework, a senior executive accountable for risk implementing and embedding an effective Three Lines of Accountability model for RITS, and revised metrics for operational resilience. The stated expected-completion dates cluster in Q4 2026, with two operational-risk items running to Q2 2027 and Q4 2027. The slower pace reflects a wider transition: a Governance Board commenced operations in March 2025, and the RITS operating model was introduced in late 2025, while the Core Modernisation Program due by December 2026 has experienced delays that flowed through to RITS.
Above the individual items sits one date that matters for planning. The Payments System Board expects the key improvements delivered and embedded ahead of the March 2028 detailed assessment, monitoring progress through regular updates in between.
How RITS access works, and where the assessment touches it
Access to RITS runs through the Reserve Bank’s Exchange Settlement Account policy. ADIs whose aggregate wholesale RITS transactions represent 0.25 per cent or more of total value must settle across their own ESA; those below the threshold may settle through an agent or apply for their own, and small ADIs may hold a dormant ESA for contingency. Non-ADI payment service providers with a genuine need to settle clearing obligations may apply. Systemically important Australian-licensed CCPs and SSFs must also hold ESAs, with scope set by their respective Australian dollar obligations and liquidity risk.
Successful applicants must demonstrate financial resources matched to their payments business, operational capacity and RITS membership, appropriate liquidity arrangements, business continuity plans, and risk management competence. The Reserve Bank last updated the policy on 11 November 2024, clarifying eligibility criteria and application requirements for ESAs not used to settle payment obligations.
Those access criteria are unchanged. What the assessment sharpens is the context. A firm building a case to access central-bank settlement directly is connecting to a system whose operator has just published, in detail, where its governance and operational gaps lie. Firms weighing an ESA application should size their resilience case accordingly.
What changes for reporting and risk teams, and what does not
The most common misreading is to look for a new template. There is none. The 2026 RITS assessment creates no reporting obligation for RITS members, ADIs, CCPs or PSPs. The Reserve Bank assessed itself; participants file nothing as a result.
Two things do change in substance. First, operational risk reporting and the risk register should reflect a settlement dependency the operator has now rated partly observed on operational risk, with a named operational incident caused by an incorrectly installed intermediate certificate. Second, business continuity and liquidity contingency planning should test the scenario the assessment makes concrete: an intraday RITS outage that extends the settlement day. The Fast Settlement Service, which runs 24 hours a day and seven days a week for New Payments Platform settlement, was unaffected in January, but the file-based settlement path was not, and that asymmetry is worth modelling.
Where firms overreach is in assuming the assessment implies the Reserve Bank will tighten ESA access or impose new member conditions. It does not. Read it as a dependency disclosure and weigh it into operational and continuity planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 2026 RITS assessment create a new reporting obligation for banks or PSPs?
No. The assessment is the Reserve Bank measuring its own RITS infrastructure against the PFMI. Participants complete nothing and file nothing as a result. The relevance is as risk intelligence about a settlement dependency, not a filing.
Which PFMI principles were rated partly observed?
Three: Principle 2 (Governance), downgraded from a higher 2024 rating; Principle 3 (Framework for the comprehensive management of risks); and Principle 17 (Operational risk). All other relevant principles were observed as at 31 March 2026.
What was the January 2026 RITS incident?
On 27 January 2026 a technology outage stopped some RBA payment settlement services, including file-based payments and property settlements, from around 10:30 am, with file exchange restored from about 5:20 pm. The assessment attributes it to an incorrectly installed intermediate certificate, with procedures not followed. The Fast Settlement Service was not affected; the settlement day was extended to 10:45 pm so around 500 property transactions could complete.
When will the next detailed RITS assessment take place?
A detailed assessment against the applicable PFMI runs every two years, consistent with CPMI-IOSCO guidance. Ahead of the March 2028 detailed assessment, the Payments System Board expects the key improvements delivered and embedded, monitoring progress through regular updates in between.
Who is required to hold an Exchange Settlement Account?
An ADI whose aggregate wholesale RITS transactions represent 0.25 per cent or more of total value must settle across its own ESA. Smaller ADIs may instead use an agent, apply for an ESA, or hold a dormant one. Non-ADI payment service providers with a genuine need to settle clearing obligations may apply, and systemically important Australian-licensed CCPs and SSFs must also hold ESAs.
Related Articles
- APRA APS 210 settlement service provider deposits and MLH – how APRA treats ADI deposits with settlement service providers in the liquidity framework.
- RBA Payments System Board June 2026 surcharging reforms – the Board’s wider June 2026 payments agenda for Australian PSPs and merchants.
- APRA and ASIC FAR rule changes – accountability obligations for Australian banks, insurers and superannuation entities.
- APRA governance reform and CPS 510 – fit-and-proper and tenure changes shaping Australian governance reporting.
- APRA IRB accreditation pathway under APS 113 – the prudential approval route for internal-ratings-based capital models.
Key Takeaways
- The RBA released its 2026 RITS assessment on 19 June 2026, measuring RITS against the PFMI as at 31 March 2026.
- Three principles are partly observed: Governance (downgraded), Framework for the comprehensive management of risks, and Operational risk.
- The 27 January 2026 outage, caused by an incorrectly installed intermediate certificate, means RITS will not meet its 99.95 per cent availability objective for 2026.
- The Payments System Board expects key improvements embedded ahead of the March 2028 detailed assessment; detailed assessments run every two years.
- The assessment creates no reporting obligation for RITS members, ADIs, CCPs or PSPs; it is the operator assessing itself.
Sources and References
- Reserve Bank of Australia, media release 2026-16, “Assessment of the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System”, 19 June 2026: rba.gov.au/media-releases/2026/mr-26-16.html
- RBA, 2026 Assessment of RITS (Executive Summary, Ratings and Recommendations, Material Developments): rba.gov.au/payments-and-infrastructure/rits/self-assessments/2026/
- RBA, media release 2026-02, “Technology Outage”, 29 January 2026: rba.gov.au/media-releases/2026/mr-26-02.html
- RBA, About RITS (RTGS function, ESAs, Fast Settlement Service): rba.gov.au/payments-and-infrastructure/rits/about.html
- RBA, RITS Membership categories and application: rba.gov.au/payments-and-infrastructure/rits/membership/
- RBA, Exchange Settlement Account Policy (eligibility criteria; updated 11 November 2024): rba.gov.au/payments-and-infrastructure/esa/
- CPMI-IOSCO, Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI): bis.org/cpmi/publ/d101a.pdf
Reading the assessment as a dependency, not a return
The Reserve Bank has named three weak points in RITS, attached a remediation list with dates, and committed to having the key items embedded before the March 2028 detailed assessment. All of it should land in the operational risk register, the continuity plan, and, for anyone weighing an ESA application, the resilience case put to the Reserve Bank.
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