Key Takeaways
- • ANZ is exploring use of its A$DC stablecoin, first issued as a pilot in 2022, to settle employer superannuation (pension) contributions in partnership with pension fund HESTA, according to the Australian Financial Review.
- • The proposed design would attach contribution data to each stablecoin payment through a smart contract, rather than sending payment and data separately.
- • Australia processes roughly 200 million pension payments annually with a reported 1.6% error rate, all routed through the central clearing house SuperStream.
- • Regulatory changes under way would require superannuation contributions to be paid at the same time as salaries, replacing the current quarterly schedule.
Summary
ANZ, one of Australia's major banks, first issued its pilot A$DC stablecoin in 2022. The bank is now exploring whether the token can be used by employers to pay staff superannuation contributions, working with pension fund HESTA, according to the Australian Financial Review as reported by Ledger Insights. Australians refer to pensions as superannuation.
Under the current process, employers contributing to staff pensions transfer funds to the relevant funds and separately send data identifying what each payment relates to. ANZ's proposal is to embed that data within the stablecoin payment as part of a smart contract, so that the money and its supporting information move together.
The scale of the problem is significant. According to the reported figures, around 200 million pension payments are made each year in Australia, with an error rate of 1.6%. All of these payments run through SuperStream, the central clearing house for superannuation transactions.
Regulatory changes are also underway that would require contributions to be made at the same time as salaries, rather than quarterly as is currently the case. The source article is partially paywalled, so further details on timelines, participating employers, or the regulatory framework were not available in the primary reporting.
Under the current process, employers contributing to staff pensions transfer funds to the relevant funds and separately send data identifying what each payment relates to. ANZ's proposal is to embed that data within the stablecoin payment as part of a smart contract, so that the money and its supporting information move together.
The scale of the problem is significant. According to the reported figures, around 200 million pension payments are made each year in Australia, with an error rate of 1.6%. All of these payments run through SuperStream, the central clearing house for superannuation transactions.
Regulatory changes are also underway that would require contributions to be made at the same time as salaries, rather than quarterly as is currently the case. The source article is partially paywalled, so further details on timelines, participating employers, or the regulatory framework were not available in the primary reporting.
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