Easy ways to pay your bills
BPAY® or Direct Debit? Find out the key differences between the two and the best way to use them to make paying bills easier.
What is BPAY?
BPAY – short for bill payment – is a feature you can access from your online or mobile banking to pay bills. With it, you can make one-off or recurring payments for bills like:
- Internet
- Mobile
- Monthly utilities
- Credit card
- Insurance
You can also use BPAY to pay your rent. This is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you don't miss a payment and get charged a late fee.
What is Direct Debit?
Direct Debit is an agreement that allows a company or merchant to debit, or bill, your account on a recurring basis. When a Direct Debit is established, the company will automatically move the funds from your account.
All Direct Debits are established via a contract between the company, the bank, and yourself. This ensures that payments can be as effortless, yet secure, as possible.
The most common type of Direct Debit is referred to as a 'reoccurring card payment' which uses your credit or debit card as the payment method. These are further governed by your credit card providers' scheme to ensure fair transactions.
What's the difference between BPAY and Direct Debit?
| BPAY® vs Direct Debit |
BPAY® |
Direct Debit |
|---|---|---|
| How to establish |
Online and mobile banking |
Direct with merchant or company |
| Payment type |
Transfer from savings or transaction account |
Debit from your debit or credit card |
| Payment frequency |
Once or ongoing for up to 18 months |
Automatic once set up |
| Fees |
Usually free (Do note that your account may have a limit on the number of free transactions) |
Based on merchant or bank |
| Time to transfer |
Usually within the same day as long as it's a banking business day and the payment is made before the cut-off time |
Usually day of, but may take a few days to reflect on your account statement |
| BPAY® vs Direct Debit |
How to establish |
|---|---|
| BPAY® |
Online and mobile banking |
| Direct Debit |
Direct with merchant or company |
| BPAY® vs Direct Debit |
Payment type |
| BPAY® |
Transfer from savings or transaction account |
| Direct Debit |
Debit from your debit or credit card |
| BPAY® vs Direct Debit |
Payment frequency |
| BPAY® |
Once or ongoing for up to 18 months |
| Direct Debit |
Automatic once set up |
| BPAY® vs Direct Debit |
Fees |
| BPAY® |
Usually free (Do note that your account may have a limit on the number of free transactions) |
| Direct Debit |
Based on merchant or bank |
| BPAY® vs Direct Debit |
Time to transfer |
| BPAY® |
Usually within the same day as long as it's a banking business day and the payment is made before the cut-off time |
| Direct Debit |
Usually day of, but may take a few days to reflect on your account statement |
Which is easier to use to pay bills?
This will depend on how you pay your bills and the type of bill you are paying. For example, if you are paying a bill once, then it will likely be easier to use BPAY. On the other hand, if you have an ongoing bill or contract with a company that will not expire in the foreseeable future, then Direct Debit may be easier.
An important thing to be aware of here is that Direct Debit is a contract between you and a company. The bank just facilitates the transfer. This means that any changes to the billing must be done directly with the company.
How do you apply for Direct Debit and BPAY?
To sign up for Direct Debit, you will need to contact the company or merchant directly. In most cases, they will tell you if Direct Debit is available and they'll also provide the instructions and relevant forms to set it up.
BPAY is available via online banking or your Australian mobile banking app.
Regardless of the method you select, please ensure that you have enough money in your account on the day of the transaction or the payment may not go through.
