RBA opens tokenisation consultation as retail CBDC case fades

The Reserve Bank of Australia opened a consultation on RITS settlement support for tokenised markets on 3 September 2026, while a separate RBA-Treasury assessment found no clear public-interest case for a retail central bank digital currency.

The consultation seeks views on how the RBA's settlement services could support tokenised asset markets and tokenised private money in Australia while promoting safety, efficiency and financial stability. It is open until 30 October 2026.

The two publications concern different parts of Australia's payments system.

A one-month filing clock

The consultation, titled 'The Role of RITS in Supporting Settlement in a Tokenised Ecosystem', is one of several initiatives identified in Project Acacia. The RBA describes the initiatives as the basis for a future programme of work intended to ensure Australia's money, payments and settlement arrangements remain fit for the future. The release does not set out a proposed access model, eligibility criteria or technical design for tokenised instruments, and does not establish whether those instruments would settle directly through RITS, through an interface or under another arrangement.

The RBA is seeking views on how its settlement services could support the development and growth of tokenised asset markets and tokenised private money while meeting the stated safety, efficiency and financial-stability objectives. The release does not quantify a market impact or identify prospective users.

The consultation is an open request for views, not a decision to change RITS. No implementation date for any RITS changes is identified.

The RBA said the work forms part of Project Acacia's wholesale-market initiatives. It continues to work on those initiatives and has published information on its regulatory, industry and RBA workstreams, which it will update periodically.

Retail payments follow a separate test

Alongside the consultation, the RBA and Australian Treasury published 'Retail Central Bank Digital Currency in the Australian Context: An Update'. The report concludes that Australia's retail payment system is serving households and businesses well and that there is no clear public-interest case for issuing a retail CBDC.

The assessment is consistent with the RBA and Treasury's 2024 joint paper, 'Central Bank Digital Currency and the Future of Digital Money in Australia'. It also draws on a public consultation conducted by Verian Group on Australians' payment needs and views on a potential retail CBDC. The findings are available in the independent report 'Unmet Payment Needs and Digital Money'.

The retail assessment does not determine the future of tokenised wholesale finance or tokenised private money. The release presents it as part of separate work on Australia's retail payments system, alongside the RITS consultation's focus on wholesale settlement arrangements.

For firms preparing a response, the consultation invites evidence on settlement support for tokenised markets and private money. The CBDC publication records the RBA and Treasury's current conclusion on retail central-bank money, rather than an implementation proposal.

The consultation closes on 30 October 2026. No later official event or implementation date is identified in the release; the RBA's periodic updates on its regulatory, industry and RBA workstreams are the records to monitor.