The BPAY Story

The launch of BPAY on November 18, 1997 was a global first: A single bill payment service adopted across the banking sector. Today, BPAY remains unique on the world stage as a distinctively Australian invention.

BPAY was set up to provide customers with a convenient and secure way to pay their bills and to create a more efficient collection service for billers and financial institutions.

In 10 years, BPAY has become the most popular bill payment service in Australia, with its characteristically bold 'B' logo, which symbolises ease, convenience and security.

Now, 180 Australian financial institutions, ranging from banks to credit unions and covering about 90 per cent of the consumer banking market, belong to the scheme. The sceme has also broadened consumer access to BPAY with a new membership category called a Payer Institution Member which is any Australian Institution that manages a store of value for customers, sponsored by a BPAY member that is an Authorised Deposit-taking institution under the Banking Act.

More than 15,000 biller codes covering companies, utilities and government departments now accept payment via BPAY, including Australia’s top billers. Each month, 18 million bills worth $11 billion are paid using BPAY, and more than 77 per cent of these are paid over the internet.

BPAY started as an innovative and secure phone bill-paying scheme, and this cutting-edge approach to using technology has continued. It soon offered electronic bill payment via the Internet, then it introduced BPAY View to enhance the BPAY offer in January 2002.

BPAY View allows consumers to receive bills electronically, which they can then pay using BPAY. The service was designed to reduce costs for billers and to streamline bill collection services, while improving relationships with customers.