With a remarkable 10-year history of double-digit growth, BPAY is continually looking for opportunities to increase its uptake as the preferred payment service beyond the framework of recurring household bills. Building BPAY usage in areas not yet associated with the brand will help drive its status as Australia's most popular bill payment option.

One such example is the superannuation industry. With legislative changes around super contributions in mid 2007, not surprisingly, BPAY experienced an impressive spike in payment volumes in May and June 2007.

The unexpected development, however, is its knock-on effect: The growth seen in 2007 has been carried into 2008, with a 25 per cent year-on-year growth in June.

The reasons are two-fold: More super funds are offering BPAY as a payment choice; and consumers are more frequently turning to BPAY as an easy way to make voluntary contributions.

The BPAY benefit for superannuation funds centres on a simplified reconciliation process. Superannuation providers use BPAY's Customer Reference Number (CRN) as a tool for tracking and allocating contributions made by its members to a specific fund within the company's portfolio.

Even more significantly, however, a customised CRN identifies the type of contribution being made, for instance a salary sacrifice or a spousal contribution.

Account Manager David D'Eramo of Westpac recently collaborated with Aviva Australia, which is part of the global financial services company, Aviva Group, to customise a BPAY solution for their business and customers. Using a modified CRN to identify the type of contribution being made provides the company and client with vital information, particularly in relation to tax obligations.

Live since April 2008, Aviva's BPAY solution runs on the Navigator superannuation platform, and involves customising the first two digits of the CRN to represent the different types of contributions.

If any Member is interested in learning more about how BPAY can help superannuation clients, please call the BPAY office (02 8252 0500).