Despite the delays, there are now 80 institutions connected to the NPP and providing fast payment services to their customers and use of the platform is continuing to grow, the Reserve Bank of Australia said yesterday.In a conclusions paper on NPP Functionality and Access Consultation, the RBA left the threat of regulation of the New Payments Platform to another time. "The Reserve Bank agrees that the access issues discussed in this report, if left unaddressed, could raise policy concerns," it said. "Accordingly, the Bank has made a number of recommendations for NPPA to take action in relation to requirements for participation in the NPP, the required capital contribution for participation and the governance arrangements involving the NPPA Board. The Bank considers that it is reasonable to give NPPA and its participants the opportunity to act on these recommendations before considering the imposition of specific regulation. "The Bank will be monitoring progress on these recommendations closely and will continue to liaise with potential entrants to ensure that the operation of the NPP is consistent with the promotion of competition and efficiency in the payments system." In a statement, NPP Australia pointed out the RBA "notes NPP Australia's ambitious agenda to build further capability" with "work underway to drive the development of a consent and mandate service, data and message usage guidelines and third-party payment initiation." NPPA said it "agreed with the RBA's assessment on overlay services; many fintechs and other entities that have expressed interest in becoming overlay service providers are able to realise their business objectives by using existing NPP functionality provided by a participating institution."The RBA will require NPP Australia "provide a public written response to the recommendations in this report by end July 2019," and also "seek regular updates from NPPA on its progress in addressing the recommendations."The Bank will, with the assistance of the ACCC, conduct another review of NPP functionality and access issues commencing no later than July 2021."The slow and uneven roll-out of NPP services has been disappointing and the Bank will continue to push participants to prioritise their development of NPP services," the RBA said, thinking of Macquarie, Citi and HSBC, and most major banks."To overcome possible coordination issues amongst participants in the development of new capabilities, the RBA is recommending that NPPA's Board introduces a power for it to mandate that specified NPP core capabilities must be supported by participants within a specific period of time, with a sanctions regime to apply if participants do not comply."