Who uses BPAY?
BPAY is Australia’s most widely used bill payment service which enables bill payers to transfer funds electronically from their bank accounts to billers. It is offered as a payment channel by over 170 financial institutions through their phone and Internet banking services.
Since BPAY’s launch in 1997 electronic bill payment in Australia has grown at a phenomenal rate. BPAY can be used to pay
over 20,000 different bills Australia wide and each month BPAY processes over 24 million individual payments.
Over the last couple of years there has been a substantial increase in the number of people who have access to internet banking which has resulted in a large increase in the number of people using BPAY. Now 74% of the Australian bill paying population use BPAY* with
89% of BPAY payments being made via the internet.
*source: TNS Research Nov 2010
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Who can offer BPAY as a payment option?
BPAY currently has
over 20,000 Biller Codes for businesses ranging in size and across various industries. Companies who offer BPAY will include the BPAY logo on the bill where they provide the details of their payment options. Companies who would like to offer BPAY as a payment option need to contact their financial institution to become a BPAY biller. Financial Institutions who offer BPAY to billers.
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What are the benefits of offering BPAY as a payment method to my customers?
By offering BPAY, billers can improve cash flow, decrease costs and reduce administration time. Cleared funds are deposited directly into your account each banking business day. Account reconciliation is made easy with a payment information file detailing all payments received.
BPAY is also quick and easy for your customers. It allows your customers to pay a wide range of bills with just one phone call or the touch of a computer key, seven days a week, day or night, within the security of their banking environment.
BPAY offers an efficient and user-friendly solution to payment collection that provides significant cost and time benefits for billers and consumers.
To view a tutorial on how offering BPAY can benefit your customers, please click below:
 | Customer Benefits This demonstration will run for approximately 2 minutes. Note: to view this demo you will need Adobe Flash Player. |
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How does BPAY work?
Using BPAY for payment collection is simple:
- You send your customer an invoice or bill displaying a BPAY logo, your unique BPAY biller Code and their Customer Reference Number (CRN).
- Your customer logs into their Internet banking site or dials their phone banking number and follows the prompts to make a BPAY payment.
- Your customer will be asked to provide your Biller Code, their Customer Reference Number and the amount they wish to pay.
- The customer’s financial institution validates the payment and gives the customer a receipt number.
- Your customer’s payment details are forwarded to your financial institution via BPAY.
- Your financial institution forwards a payment information file to you and deposits cleared funds into your bank account.
For a demonstrations on how BPAY works, please click below:
| How does BPAY Work? This demonstration will run for approximately 2 minutes. Note: to view this demo you will need Adobe Flash Player. |
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How do I become a BPAY Biller?
Participating financial institutions can explain how easy it is to become a BPAY biller. Simply call or email your preferred bank, building society or credit union.
Please note that not all financial institutions offer this service to billers. To find a financial institution that does, click here.
To better understand the process of becoming a BPAY Biller please click below:
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I am a new BPAY Biller, what do I need to do?
If you have signed up to become a BPAY Biller with your Financial Institution but still want more information, click below to view the New BPAY Biller “Getting Started” Tutorial.
The Tutorial for new Billers has been created to cover topics such as: activation dates; the biller master file; the CRN, check digit and CRN tool and mistaken and unauthorised payments.
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Do I have to offer all payment methods if I offer BPAY to my customers?
No, you have the choice of which payment methods you offer your consumers through BPAY, these include scheme debit account (saving or cheque accounts), Visa Credit Card, Mastercard Credit Card or other credit card accounts.
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Can I set value limits for our BPAY Payments?
Yes, at a minimum you need to set upper and lower payment value limits for each biller code. You can also set value limit amounts for different payments methods. Details of the operational scheme requirements are included in the Biller Operations manual or speak to your financial institution.
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What is a Customer Reference Number?
A Customer Reference Number, or CRN, is a unique number that is allocated to a bill in order to identify the account that is to be paid. The CRN may remain constant for the customer, or may change from bill to bill. The CRN enables you to reconcile your accounts more efficiently, and is located on the bill next to the BPAY logo below the biller code.
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What is a Check Digit?
The check digit is a number calculated within the CRN. It is used to ensure the customer does not enter the CRN incorrectly. Every BPAY CRN includes a check digit.
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Where can I obtain advice on including a check digit routine in my customer reference number?
Contact your financial institution who can assist with the implementation of check digit routines.
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Am I required to promote BPAY as a payment option and what promotional material is available to me?
All you are required to do is clearly display the BPAY logo, your Biller Code, the Customer Reference Number and payment information on your bills or invoices. The BPAY logo and guidelines for use are available for downloading here.
However, we recommend additional promotions to fully explain the benefits of BPAY to your customers.
Marketing material can be found on the Marketing Support Page. Alternately contact your financial institution.
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Am I required to reference BPAY on an Electronic bill?
Yes, electronic bills must include a payment methods section with a reference to BPAY. This section must include the BPAY logo, biller code and Customer Reference Number. Click here to download the BPAY Brand Guidelines.
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What does BPAY cost?
You'll need to contact your financial institution for more information on how much BPAY costs. To find contact details click here.
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What is an Error Correction and how do I process this?
There are five types of error corrections:
- Mistaken payment: when a customer has make an error when making a BPAY payment
- Unauthorised payment: when access to your customer’s account has been compromised by a fraudster.
- Reversal: when there has been a system error
- Payment Trace: when a customer makes a payment that the biller did not receive
- Biller Initiated Error Correction: when funds are received but the biller does not know which account to credit.
There are simple procedures for rectifying an error correction, which involved both you and your financial institution. For more information on the procedures around error corrections please contact your financial institution.
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Who do I contact if I am experiencing any issues with BPAY?
If you experience any issues with BPAY please contact your financial institution immediately.
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I am an existing BPAY Biller and would like to make changes to my BPAY Biller setup, what should I do?
BPAY Billers must contact their Financial Institutions to make changes to their BPAY Biller setup.
A tutorial for existing BPAY billers has been created which gives you the information you need to communicate with your Financial Institution. It covers topics such as: activation dates; the biller master file; unpostable payments and mistaken and unauthorised payments.
Click below to view a demonstration on Managing BPAY Payments for existing Billers Tutorial.
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Can BPAY assist in achieving business objectives around environmental savings?
We recognise that Australians are looking for opportunities to make more ecologically sound choices. BPAY View is an enabler for better environmental outcomes. Since its launch in 2002, BPAY View has helped financial institutions to electronically present 8,209,797 bills. Conservatively estimating that there is an average of two pages per bill, 16,419,594 pieces of paper have not been distributed via the traditional mail method.
To give this some perspective, Planet Ark conducted an environmental review on the impact of saving paper via BPAY View. They found that in 2007, 27 BPAY View billers and users helped to save
- 50 tonnes of paper (1,045 trees)
- 1.35 million litres of water (21 large domestic swimming pools),
- Reduced green house gas emissions by 80 tonnes (equivalent to 17 homes for one year)
Paper Saver Calculator
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