The New Payments Platform has edged a step closer to its promised "early 2018" launch. Each of the 13 shareholders of NPP Australia Ltd has revealed which banks, credit unions and building societies they would be bringing live on Day One, with payments systems provider Cuscal taking a major share - in terms of individual ADIs, that is.This is how Cuscal has self-described its efforts: 29 financial institutions covering 39 retail banking brands will be connecting to the NPP from Day One - more than 50 per cent of the total number. "Some of our clients connecting to the NPP have millions of customers and others have thousands, but all of them will be able to make and receive payments in real-time from the first day the NPP is publicly available," said Robert Bell, general manager of products and service at Cuscal.The list of ADIs connecting to the NPP via Cuscal at launch includes most of Australia's largest mutuals, including:  Bank Australia, Beyond Bank Australia, Big Sky Building Society, CUA, Defence Bank, MyState, P&N Bank, People's Choice Credit Union, Police Bank, RACQ Bank, and Teachers Mutual Bank.Cuscal processes 16 per cent of Australia's EFT transactions, and has over seven million cards under management, so its customers, combined, may equal the mythical "fifth pillar" of Australian banking - at least on NPP volumes.