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What is BPAY and how does it work?
13 May 2022
If you’ve received a bill in the mail or online, you may have noticed a blue BPAY logo. We look at what BPAY is and how it works.
What is BPAY?
BPAY, short for bill payment, is a service that lets you pay your bills through your online banking. It is Australia’s most widely used bill payment service. It is offered in the online banking of over 150 financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, building societies and neobanks.
BPAY can be used with over 60,000 businesses, including most major household bills such as phone, internet, electricity, gas, water, rates, credit card and insurance bills.
With BPAY, you have the option of paying from your transaction account, savings account and debit card. Many businesses also accept payments from credit card accounts.
How does BPAY work?
To make a BPAY payment:
- Look for the BPAY logo, biller code and customer reference number (CRN) on your bill.
- Log onto your online or mobile banking.
- Select the BPAY or bill payment option and enter the BPAY biller code and CRN, payment amount and payment date.
- Pay your bill.
All payments are made through your online banking and BPAY says it does not receive your personal details or information when you make a payment.
How long does BPAY take?
If you make your BPAY payment before 6pm (Sydney/Melbourne time) on a banking business day, it will generally get debited from your account instantly and processed that day.
Payments made after 6pm on a business day or on the weekend or a public holiday, will usually be received by the biller on the next business day.
This is the case for ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac. The process may vary depending on your financial institution.
BPAY is also available through Beem (formerly Beem It), which is an instant payments app. That means your BPAY payments will be transferred instantly.
BPAY also offers Osko, which allows customers to transfer money almost instantly to a PayID or BSB and account number.
What is BPAY View?
BPAY View lets you receive and view your bills in your online or mobile banking, rather than through the mail. You can get payment notifications and view your current and previous bills.
BPAY View is offered by a number of financial institutions (including the major banks) and billers. You can register for BPAY View through your online or mobile banking.
Does BPAY have any limitations?
There are a few things to keep in mind when using BPAY:
- Billers may decide to charge you to process BPAY payments: Some billers may charge you to process BPAY payments. It is similar to when businesses charge credit card surcharges. BPAY says your biller can tell you if, and how much, they charge for processing payments.
- Incorrect payments: If you have made a BPAY payment and realised the information was incorrect, you’ll need to contact your financial institution straight away. It may be able to reverse the transaction for you.
- Credit cards: As mentioned above, some billers don’t allow credit card payments via BPAY. You can search for your biller on the BPAY website and it will tell you which payment types it accepts.
You can also look up your bank or your biller’s BPAY biller code on the BPAY website.
Cover image source: giggsy25/Shutterstock.com
This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Jacqueline Belesky before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.
