BPAY. Simply better for
business.

BPAY is used by around 75% of Australia’s bill paying customers, and is offered by more than 150 financial institutions and is offered on over 44,000 bills*. This makes it Australia’s most widely-used bill payment service.

In recent years, increased access to the Internet has seen phenomenal growth in the number of BPAY payments processed, with BPAY now processing more than 26 million individual payments each month. Of these, more than 90% are made online.

To join the thousands of businesses already using BPAY to help manage their billing, talk to your financial institution or contact us today.

*Source: TNS Research Nov 2011

If you’ve ever paid a bill with BPAY, you know how fast and easy BPAY could be for your customers. And BPAY has real benefits for your organisation too.

Offering BPAY as a payment method can help you realise new efficiencies in your business, with streamlined billing, payments and reconciliations. So your staff can spend less time chasing payments and more time focusing on core business activities.

Here are just some of the ways BPAY can help your business:

• When customers pay with BPAY, you’ll enjoy access to cleared funds on the next Banking Business Day^, with no bouncing cheques or credit card chargebacks. So you can make the most of your working capital while managing administration costs.

• You’ll also get daily payment information files showing details of each day’s BPAY payments which can be uploaded to your receivables systems for faster, more efficient reconciliation.

• Your customers will also enjoy the security and convenience of paying bills directly from their online, mobile or phone bank, using one of Australia’s most popular and trusted payment methods**. So you can offer a better customer experience and build lasting customer relationships.

**Based on BPAY Usage and Attitude survey, 2011

Using BPAY as a billing and payment collection tool is easy. Here’s how it works:

• Paying

  First, you send your customer an invoice or bill that displays a BPAY logo, your BPAY Biller Code and their Customer Reference Number (CRN).

  When they’re ready to pay, your customer logs on to their online, mobile or phone bank, and selects the option to pay bills with BPAY.

  They’ll be asked to provide the Biller Code, CRN and amount to pay, and to choose an account to pay from, whether cheque, savings or debit card account. If your organisation accepts payments from credit card accounts, your customers can also pay from their credit card account, without the risk of chargebacks to your business.

  They choose the payment date, confirm the payment, and they’re done. They can also schedule the payment for a future date.

• Processing

  Your customer’s financial institution will now check the transaction details, before debiting the customer’s account and including the information in a payer details file.

  The file has everything we need to process the payment, but does not contain and of your customer’s personal details, except the bank account type they paid from. So you can be confident their security is protected.

  The file comes to us at BPAY for processing — every Banking Business Day^.

• Settlement

  At the end of each Banking Business Day^, we get to work processing the payer details files from all of our financial institution members, before sending them each a report showing their net position. That allows settlement to take place.

  We also send each Biller Institution a biller details file which contains information about the bill which have been paid by their customers.

• Pay your bill

  Choose the BPAY or Pay Bill option and follow the prompts to choose the biller, amount, payment account and payment date. Then record your receipt number — and you’re done! It’s as simple as that.

• Reporting

  That brings us to the final step: reporting. Your financial institution sends you a customised payment information file, with everything you need to update your receivables system and keep track of payments.

Watch a short demonstration of how BPAY bill payments work

^ Banking Business Day means a day on which banks in Sydney or Melbourne are able to effect settlement through the Reserve Bank of Australia.

To become a BPAY biller, simply contact your financial institution

Unfortunately, if your business is based overseas you can’t become a BPAY biller. BPAY is only available for businesses in Australia.

BPAY is a service delivered through your financial institution which set fees for billing with BPAY. When you use BPAY, the BPAY Scheme is paid fees relating to processing costs and BPAY Scheme membership by participating members. Contact your financial institution to find out more.

The Master / Sub Biller arrangement is where a business signs up to help other businesses offer BPAY payments to their customers — similar to a payment clearing house. The Master Biller takes on the billing, receipting, and reporting for BPAY payments, as a service to their Sub billers. In return, the Sub Billers pay the Master Biller a fee.**

Here’s a summary of the potential benefits of a Master / Sub Biller arrangement:

* Based on BPAY Usage and Attitude survey, 2011

**Fees are set by the Master Biller and agreed with the Sub-Biller. Fees may be payable by Master Billers to financial institutions. Contact your financial institution for further details.

There are two main types of Master billers.

• Member Master Biller are BPAY Biller Institutions — financial institutions who are members of the BPAY Scheme.

• Master Billers are businesses signed up to the BPAY Scheme by a Biller Institution.

Master Biller / Sub Biller arrangements may be appropriate for businesses in industries with a high number of sole traders or franchisees, or which receive frequent payments from a large number of different sources. For example, Master Biller / Sub Biller arrangements may be suitable for businesses in:

As a BPAY biller, you get to choose which payment methods you would like to offer your customers through BPAY. Here are the options:

• Debit accounts (saving and cheque accounts).

• Debit card accounts.

• Credit card accounts.

Yes. When your organisation accepts a payment from a credit card account, your organisation will enjoy cleared funds in your account the next Business Banking Day^ following payment, so there’s no risk of credit card chargebacks. Further, the payment is made from within the secure environment of the customer’s online, mobile or phone bank.

^ Banking Business Day means a day on which banks in Sydney or Melbourne are able to effect settlement through the Reserve Bank of Australia.

For each Biller Code your business uses, you need to set an upper and lower payment limit. You can also set limits for different payment methods if you choose.

For more information on limits and other BPAY biller requirements, see your Biller Operations Manual, or speak to your financial institution.

BPAY View is a bill presentment and payment service that makes it easier and faster for your customers to pay, with convenient and secure payments direct from their online or mobile bank.

With BPAY View, your customers will see their bills when they log on to their online or mobile bank, with the option to pay straight away or schedule payment for later. BPAY View is already supported by over 65 financial institutions around Australia, covering 94% of BPAY payers, including many of your customers.

BPAY View can help drive efficiencies in receivables administration and encourage your customers to pay online, giving you access to essential working capital. And your customers are likely toenjoy the simplicity and convenience of paying bills with a few clicks.

Find out more about BPAY View

BPAY View makes it easier and faster for your customers to pay, with convenient and secure payments direct from their online or mobile bank.

Watch a short demonstration on how BPAY View works

BPAY View makes it easy for your customers to view, pay and store bills and statements, all in the same convenient and secure location. Instead of getting bills in the mail and having to visit each Biller’s site to pay online, your customers can view and pay bills directly in their online or mobile bank.

Here’s a summary of how your customers can benefit from BPAY View:

• Easy access. Customers can access their bills anytime and from anywhere through BPAY View on their online or mobile bank**.

• Convenience. Customers can view and pay multiple bills from multiple Billers all in the one location, making it faster and easier to pay.

• Choice. Your customers can choose to use any payment method you allow, including BPAY.

• Control. Bills can be viewed, paid and stored in one electronic location — no more filing required.

**BPAY View is accessible anywhere and anytime your customers have access to online or mobile bank

When your customers view their bills on BPAY View, they can choose to pay them with any of the payment methods you allow — it doesn’t have to be by BPAY.

However, if they do pay by BPAY directly from BPAY View, the Biller Code and Customer Reference Number are automatically filled in, making it faster and even more convenient to pay.

To become a BPAY View biller, first contact your financial institution.

We’ll work with you, your financial institution and your Bill Service Provider to help test and implement your BPAY View system. The time this takes can vary, but you should be up and running between 4 to 6 weeks.

Setting up BPAY View for your business generally takes between 4 to 6 weeks, with most of the work done by your Bill Service Provider.

If you choose to host your bills on your own website, we may be able to get you up and running even sooner.

BPAY View can be used together with any proprietary bill presentment option, such as direct to consumer emails. So whether you host your bills on your own website, or through a Bill Service Provider, we can usually get you up and running between4 to 6 weeks.

When your customers receive their summary bill from their online banking service, they can click through to see the detailed bill, potentially driving extra traffic to your site. In this way, you can use your bills to increase customer engagement, or create an effective and targeted sales and marketing tool.

Because BPAY View is a service delivered through your financial institution’s online or mobile bank, they set fees for billing with BPAY View. When you use BPAY View, the BPAY Scheme is paid fees by the participating members relating to processing costs and BPAY Scheme membership. Contact your financial institution to find out more.

Every organisation has a unique set of priorities and needs. That’s why we are happy to work with you and your financial institution to see if BPAY View is the right solution for your business.

We’ll provide you with details of the benefits that BPAY View could offer your business, and discuss what’s involved in implementing and integrating a solution.

To start the conversation, please contact your financial institution.

When you send out a bill, it needs to have the BPAY logo, and your BPAY View registration number — as well as any other information your customer will need to register to receive your bills and invoices.

See the BPAY Brand Guidelines for more information on adding BPAY details to your bill

To get the most from this service and to help your customers get the most from BPAY View, we also suggest additional promotion to increase awareness of your BPAY View services. Our marketing team can help you with ideas and opportunities to inform your customers about your BPAY View service — please contact us to discuss your options.

You can also find some standard flyers about BPAY View on our Marketing Support Page. You can use this as a basis for your own marketing materials, or simply add your business logo to ours.

Bill Service Providers support BPAY Billers and Member financial institutions at multiple points in the BPAY process, including technical certification for BPAY View, software integration, billing and receivables managements, and bill printing.  The following Bill Service Provider organisations have previously successfully obtained BPAY View Biller Certification for current BPAY View Billers:

• Computershare
• Fuji Xerox Document Management Solutions (formerly known as Salmat before acquisition by Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific)
• Print Mail Logistics Limited (PML)
• SecurePay

Other organisations can also become Bill Service Providers and provide services to BPAY Billers (including technical certification for BPAY View) by satisfying the relevant Scheme requirements. Contact BPAY to find out how to become a BPAY Bill Service Provider.
 
All Billers who wish to offer BPAY View to their customers are required to obtain BPAY View certification and otherwise comply with the technical standards set by the BPAY Scheme.  Billers may directly engage a Bill Service Provider to assist with obtaining technical certification for BPAY View and provide other Bill Services.  Using a Bill Service Provider does not automatically or necessarily mean that a Biller will achieve BPAY View certification. 
 
Additionally, BPAY does not guarantee the quality, fitness for purpose or the results of the Bill Service Provider’s systems, processes or services.  BPAY expressly disclaims any representations to the contrary and any related liability.
 
For further information and details on using a Bill Service Provider, Billers should contact their Member financial institution and obtain a copy of the relevant part of the BPAY Scheme Rules and Operating Procedures.

Here are the five types of error corrections and their causes:

• Mistaken payments — your customer makes a mistake when paying you with BPAY.

• Unauthorised payments — access to your customer’s online, mobile or phone bank is compromised by fraud.

• Reversals — a system error has occurred.

• Payment traces — a customer makes a payment, but you don’t receive it.

• Biller initiated error correction — you receive a payment but you don’t know who it’s from.

There are simple procedures for processing these errors that involve both you and your financial institution. You’ll need to contact your financial institution to find out what to do.

Usually, your customers can click on their bill summary to access a copy of their detailed bill on your website (or bill service provider’s site).

If they can’t, check your website, or contact your Bill Service Provider to make sure there isn’t an issue with the hosting of your bills.

If you’re still having problems, please contact your financial institution.

Yes. All BPAY payments are made within the secure environment of your customer’s online, mobile or phone bank, so you can be confident that their security is protected.

The only people with access to your customer’s account or personal details are you, your customer, and your customer’s financial institution. BPAY does not receive any of your customer’s personal details or account details during the payment process (except the bank account type they paid from).

Yes. Like BPAY payments, BPAY View bills are sent and stored within the secure environment of your customer’s online or mobile banke, so you can be confident that their security is protected.

If your customer chooses to pay a BPAY View bill by BPAY, the only people with access to their account or personal details are you, your customer, your Bill Service Provider and your customer’s financial institution. BPAY does not receive any of your customer’s personal details or account details during the payment process (except the bank account type they paid from).

Your BPAY biller service is managed by your financial institution.

If you are changing financial institutions, you should check to see if they offer BPAY biller services. If they do, they can help you manage the transfer and any changes you need.

Find financial institutions that offer BPAY biller services

To change your BPAY biller setup, you’ll need to get in touch with your financial institution. Because they manage your BPAY service for you, they can help you with any setup changes you need.

To help you in your discussions with your financial institution, we’ve created a 12-minute video about some of the setup options and features available in BPAY. The video covers:

• Activation dates.

• The biller master file.

• Un-postable payments.

• Mistaken and unauthorised payments.

Watch our demonstration about managing your BPAY service

The CRN is a unique 2-20 digit number that appears on every customer bill. It is used to identify the account or bill to be paid without providing any personal information about the customer.

You can use CRNs like account numbers, putting the same CRN on every bill you send an individual customer. Or you can use them like invoice numbers, putting a different CRN on each individual bill. We call that a variable CRN which can be used to track individual transactions for a customer that may receive multiple bills from you within a billing period.

You can even use a CRN that ensures customers can only pay exactly the right amount before a specific date. Called an Intelligent CRN (iCRN), it may be useful for businesses that do not wish to be bound by a contract unless they receive an agreed amount on time, or where there is a requirement for a specific payment to be made in full or by a specified date, such as a fine or vehicle registration.

The check digit is a special number used in all CRNs calculated from the other digits in the CRN.

It helps make sure your customers don’t enter the wrong numbers, or get the order mixed up when they are making their BPAY payment within internet, mobile or phone banking. So you can generally be confident that the bill they pay is the one they meant to pay.

Find out more about check digits

Your financial institution can help with implementing a check digit routine.

Watch a demonstration about check digits, CRNs and the CRN tool

QR codes are advanced bar codes that may be read by a smart phone or tablet for information on a product, service or person.

By placing a QR code on the bill you send your customers, they may be able to make a BPAY payment or register for BPAY View by scanning the code from their mobile banking app and a couple of clicks , provided their financial institution allows it. They’ll enjoy the speed and convenience. And your organisation may benefit from streamlined receivables processing and reconciliation, helping to manage administration costs.

Your financial institution can help you set up QR codes for your bills, provide they support them.

What is iCRN and how do I set it up?

iCRN may be useful for businesses like insurers that do not wish to be bound by a contract unless they receive an agreed amount on time, or where there is a requirement for a specific payment to be made in full by a specified date, such as a fine or vehicle registration.

Your financial institution can help you set up iCRN for your bills, provided they support it.

A batch payment is a way to make multiple BPAY payments at a time to one or more billers — all through a single transaction file.

Just like your paper bills, your electronic bills need to include the relevant BPAY details. That way your customer has the information they need to pay your bill with BPAY.

You’ll need to include a payment methods section, with a section for the BPAY logo, Biller Code and Customer Reference Number (CRN). Here’s an example:

See the BPAY Brand Guidelines for more information on adding BPAY details to your bill.

In November 2012 BPAY changed its logo. As part of BPAY’s 15 year Anniversary, the refreshment and modernisation of the logo ensures that the brand continues to be associated with the modern way of paying.

Billing organisations have an 18 month window from the 1st December 2012 to the beginning of June 2014 to implement the new logo on bills (electronic or paper), information section on web and mobile sites and any printed material. Click here to download the new brand guidelines or logos. If any further assistance is required, please email the BPAY Marketing department at marketing@bpay.com.au.