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 15,000 different bills Australia wide and each month BPAY processes over 18 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 70% of the Australian bill paying population use BPAY* with 79% of BPAY payments being made via the internet.
Benefits both businesses and customers
BPAY is an efficient and user-friendly solution for payment collection that provides benefits for both billers and customers.
• Improve your cash flow
Manually processed payments or those in transit can significantly reduce the cash position of your business. Not only can BPAY help to increase cash flow, depending on your current payment collection method, it can assist in decreasing collection costs and reduce administration time.
• Access cleared funds
Every business banking day, all payments (online and phone) will be deposited to your nominated account by your participating financial institution.
• Easy Reconciliation of payments
Daily payment files are provided allowing for easy reconciliation of funds and payment information.
• Treat your customers
BPAY will also make life easier and more convenient for your customers. With BPAY, standing in queues and posting checks can become a thing of the past. Your customers can pay your bill with just one phone call or during one internet banking session. They can choose to pay from their check or savings account or, if you give them the option, their credit card account.
• Offers 'green' option
Not only does BPAY enable your customers to make a 'greener' choice, but with an increasing demand for organizations to demonstrate accountability beyond financial performance, the BPAY service can contribute to the practice of a sustainable environmental policy.
Registration as easy as can B
Becoming a BPAY View biller is a simple process.
• Businesses should contact their financial institution. The list of financial institutions offering BPAY biller services can be found on BPAY website;
• Businesses’ financial institution and BPAY will work with them and their bill service provider to implement the service;
• Implementation and testing will vary but generally can be done within a couple of months.
When a consumer registers for Internet banking with his/her financial institution he/she is ready to register for receiving bills via BPAY View. Here is step by step registration process.
• We should check if the biller offers BPAY View. For our example we will use BOC Ltd
• We log onto our participating financial institution's Internet Banking site
• Click on 'View bills' or 'BPAY View' tab
• At registration we should have our paper bill with us and supply the required details
• Select 'Add Biller' or 'New Biller' and enter 48322 or select from the list provided
Thus the registration process with BOC Ltd. starts this way:
BOC Ltd requires three (3) pieces of information to enable them to verify your registration.
Account Number
Enter your 7 digit Account Number which is located in the top right corner of your paper bill.
Invoice Number
Enter your Invoice Number (or any one of the invoice numbers listed) located in your BOC Ltd paper bill invoice details
Account Name
Enter your Account Name located in the top left hand corner of your paper bill.
• Once you have completed the registration process for BOC Ltd, you will receive a notification at your Internet Banking site on the status of your registration within 2 days.
• Once you are successfully registered for BOC Ltd with BPAY View, you will receive a notification when a new bill has arrived either via email or the next time you log onto your Internet Banking site.
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From this point on you will receive one more paper bill before you are fully transferred to receiving your bills through BPAY VIEW.
• If you are unsuccessful in registering your BOC Ltd bill with BPAY View, you will be provided with a reason code at your Internet Banking Site.
The main reasons for an unsuccessful registration are:
1. incorrectly entering the registration details (e.g BPAY View Registration Number) or;
2. being already registered to receive this bill at another Internet Banking site.
In order to attempt to register again, make sure you have the most recent paper bill with you and follow the registration steps above.
If you are still experiencing problems with your registration, contact your financial institution.
BPAY membership
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Participant Member: An ADI admitted to the Bpay Scheme who directly settles with other Participant Members for inter-institutional settlement payment obligations arising in the Scheme. An Eligible Participant Member has the right to appoint a representative to the Management Committee. The Management Committee is made up of representatives of the top 12 institutions by volume processed.
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Associate Member: An ADI that is a member of the Bpay Scheme who does not directly settle for inter-institutional settlement obligations arising in the Scheme. Associate Members settle via a Participant Member.
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Payer Institution Member: An organisation, not necessarily an ADI, who manages stored value accounts for customers e.g. superannuation funds. Payer Institution Members must be sponsored into the Scheme by a Participant Member and cannot be Biller Institutions.Payer Institution Members settle via a Participant Member.
Fees
• Business:
Transaction fees are agreed between a business that uses Bpay and their bank and are payable to that bank.
• Consumer:
A Bpay payment is an electronic transaction undertaken by the consumer at their bank. These electronic transactions may attract fees depending on the individual financial institution offering the Bpay service.
