Western Australia’s economy is highly export-driven. With exports over $240 Billion, it makes nearly half of the total Australian goods exports. Yet cross-border payments still carry potentially avoidable friction such as settlement delays, layered fees, FX spreads, manual exceptions & compliance overheads, costs that hit SMEs hardest & compound across large trade flows.

This session is a practical, industry-first discussion focused on one question:
How can WA reduce the costs & friction of cross-border export payments & safely adopt modern, regulated digital settlement tools where they deliver clear benefits while maintaining strong compliance, consumer protection, operational resilience & effective supervision?

Society is both witnessing and participating in rapid technological changes. Blockchain and the globalization of trade, Artificial Intelligence with its promise and peril, and the need for a new definition of trust based on identity are all in the mix. We offer a perspective on each of these topics, sorting out the ephemeral from what is constant.

Speed & convenience mean nothing if systems are fragile, surveillant or easy to break. Discussants will explore how to design digital infrastructures that remain secure, resilient & privacy-safe even under pressure, the safeguards that must be built in from Day One & approaches that are mature enough to deploy now.