Asia Pacific payments group & Monash sign research pact

Emerging Payments Association Asia and Monash University Malaysia have signed a memorandum of understanding on payments research and policy in the Asia Pacific. The agreement establishes a three-year partnership between the industry body and the university's Monash FinTech Lab.

Under the partnership, the organisations will work to translate academic research into practical analysis for payments policy and industry decision-making. Key areas of focus include quantum-safe cryptography, stablecoins, scams and fraud, and cross-border remittances.

The agreement was signed at Monash University Malaysia by Professor Nafis Alam, Head of School of Business at Monash University Malaysia, and Camilla Bullock, Chief Executive Officer of Emerging Payments Association Asia.

The partnership also covers skills development for the sector. This work is intended to help prepare future payments professionals in the region as regulators and businesses respond to rapid change in digital finance.

Policy focus

The collaboration brings together an industry association whose members span multiple parts of the payments market and an academic team focused on financial technology and regulation. It reflects a broader push across the Asia Pacific to connect technical research more closely with policy as payment systems become more complex.

Digital asset regulation, fraud prevention and cross-border money movement have become more prominent issues for policymakers and market participants across the region. Quantum-safe cryptography is also drawing greater attention as institutions assess longer-term cybersecurity risks to financial infrastructure.

Stablecoins are another area under scrutiny, with regulators in several jurisdictions examining how tokenised forms of value might be used in payments while limiting financial crime, consumer harm and market instability.

Cross-border remittances remain a practical concern for businesses and households, particularly in a region with large migrant worker populations and high volumes of small international transfers. At the same time, scams and fraud have become a persistent policy challenge as digital payment adoption grows.

Bullock said the work would require input from across the sector.

"APAC's payments landscape is world-leading, but new technologies are creating policy challenges that no single institution can address alone," said Camilla Bullock, Chief Executive Officer of Emerging Payments Association Asia. "Priority areas such as quantum-safe cryptography, scams and fraud, cross-border remittances and the emergence of stablecoins require collaboration across all parts of the ecosystem."

"By joining forces, EPAA and Monash FinTech Lab will offer informed, coordinated leadership that can bridge the gap between innovation and policy and build shared capability across the ecosystem," said Bullock.

Industry and academia

The arrangement highlights the growing role of universities in applied financial policy work, particularly where regulation must keep pace with technical change. Research groups are increasingly used by public and private sector bodies to test ideas, provide evidence and develop training in specialist areas.

Monash University Malaysia's business school has been expanding its fintech work through the Monash FinTech Lab and related research activity. The new partnership creates a direct channel into payments industry discussions in the Asia Pacific, where digital wallets, instant payments and platform-based commerce have grown quickly.

Professor Andreas Deppeler, Professor of Practise at Monash University Malaysia's School of Business and Co-Director of Monash FinTech Impact Lab, said the timing reflected the pace of change in regional payments.

"Payments across the Asia Pacific region are evolving rapidly, creating new opportunities as well as complex policy and regulatory challenges," said Andreas Deppeler, Professor of Practise at Monash University Malaysia's School of Business and Co-Director of Monash FinTech Impact Lab. "This makes close collaboration between industry and researchers essential to understand the implications for consumers, businesses and regulators."

"By working together with the EPAA, we aim to strengthen policy development, build technical capability and help prepare the next generation of payments professionals to support APAC's global competitiveness," Deppeler added.

Beyond research, the partnership will support joint capability-building work. This may include bringing together senior industry figures, academics and regulators around specific payments issues affecting the region.

Its outcomes are also intended to support a resilient, well-governed payments system across the Asia Pacific. The agreement places particular emphasis on making academic work more relevant to the practical policy questions facing market participants and supervisory bodies.

For the Emerging Payments Association Asia, the link-up extends its role in policy debate beyond industry representation. For Monash University Malaysia, it gives fintech researchers a more formal route into live discussions on how payment systems in the region are evolving.