This article contains promotional content. (June 2023) |
 | |
Company type | Public (unlisted) |
|---|---|
| New Payments Platform Australia Limited (ABN 68 601 428 737) | |
| Industry | Payments |
| Founded | June 2013 |
| Headquarters | 255 George Street, Sydney ,Australia |
| Website | www |
The New Payments Platform (NPP), owned and operated by New Payments Platform Australia Ltd (NPPA)[1] is a national industry-wide real-time payments platform for Australia. As of April 2025, there are over 25 million registered PayIDs.[2]
In 2021, NPP Australia became a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian Payments Plus (AP+) after the ACCC authorised the amalgamation with BPAY Group and eftpos.[3][4]
History
editThe new instant payment platform for real-time low-value payments was in response to the Reserve Bank of Australia's Payment System Board's Conclusions to the Strategic Review of the Innovation in Payments System publication.[5] The NPP was announced in July 2013 by the Australian Payments Clearing Association.[6] In December 2014, the Program proceeded to the third phase: "design, build and test." In 2015 a contract was signed with SWIFT to design, build and operate the platform.[7]
It took approximately 6 years to implement[8] and became accessible to the general public on 13 February 2018[9] with the introduction of PayID, an addressing capability, and Osko,[10] the first NPP overlay service, operated by BPAY.
In September 2021, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) authorised a proposed merger of the New Payments Platform of eftpos Payments Australia and BPAY.[11][12]
Services
editPayTo
editThe Mandated Payment Service is now known as PayTo. It is a system for enabling "withdrawals" on the NPP whereby businesses to initiate real-time payments from a customers’ bank account. The NPP does not inherently support "withdrawals", so the service provides an overlay allowing the "withdrawing" party to create a payment order and authorisation request. PayTo can also be used by third parties to conduct payments on behalf such as for corporate payroll and accounts payable.[13]
PayID
editPayID is NPP's addressing service to enable payments. Its PayTo facility allows for payments to be sent by a user to a PayID.[14] The following chart compares PayID mobile payments via NPP to electronic payments, or bank transfers.
| Compare | PayID/PayTo | Bank transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer Time | Less than 1 minute, normally[15] | Up to 3 working days |
| Activation | Opt-in, via your bank | Always |
| Payee ID | Phone number, email or ABN[16] | BSB and account number |
| Withdrawals | via PayTo | Possible (if they have your password) |
| Direct Debit | via PayTo, with payee authorisation | Possible, but requires payee to cancel |
| Availability | 24/7 | Banking hours only |
| Full Payee Name | Confirmed before approval | Not included |
| Transfer description | 280 characters (allows emojis) | 18 characters |
| Remitter name | Personal or business account name | 16 characters |
| Change accounts | Keep PayID or create new one | Same BSB and new account number |
| Switch banks | Keep PayID or create new one | New BSB and new account number |
| Multiple IDs | Use multiple emails | Never |
| Pay Overseas | In the near future | Current |
PayID will coexist with the BSB and account number addressing scheme.
Osko
editOsko is owned and operated by BPAY, and operates on the NPP as an overlay service. It uses PayID as a reference for payments. Payments are instant to accounts that have been transferred to previously.
In 2021, BPAY attributed a change in NPPA strategy (particularly the announcement of MPS, the Mandated Payment Service), as the cause of write-down in the value of their Osko business.[17]
NPP Australia
editNPP Australia is a non-profit public company established to oversee the operation of the NPP and is owned by 13 shareholders. It is governed by a board of 12 voting Directors, including 3 independent directors, and the RBA.[18]
| NPP Australia |
|---|
| Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation |
| Australian Settlements Limited |
| Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited |
| Citigroup Pty Ltd |
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia |
| Cuscal Limited |
| HSBC Bank Australia Limited |
| Indue Limited |
| ING Australia |
| Macquarie Bank Limited |
| National Australia Bank Limited |
| Westpac Banking Corporation |
| Reserve Bank of Australia |
Participant Banks
editFinancial institutions need to ensure that their NPP services can reliably handle the full range of payments. All NPP Participants must meet availability requirements of no more than two minutes outage per month.[19]
Controversy
editOnline scams
editPayID has been noted in Australia as a vehicle for online scammers on social media marketplaces.[20][21][22]
References
edit- ^ Nelson, Jake (6 August 2021). "ACCC Seeks Input On Eftpos Mega-Merger". CHANNELNEWS. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "The NPP October 2022 Roadmap has been published". nppa.com.au. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ "ACCC authorises payment systems merger after undertaking". accc.gov.au. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
- ^ "Memorandum of Understanding: Cooperation arrangements between Australian Payments Plus Limited, NPP Australia Limited and the Reserve Bank of Australia (2024–2027)". rba.gov.au. Reserve Bank of Australia. 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
- ^ Strategic Review of Innovation in the Payments System: Conclusions Reserve Bank of Australia June 2012
- ^ Industry wide program to develop the "Industry-wide program to develop the New Payments Platform gets underway" Australian Payments Network. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ "RBA Advocates A Strong Digital Identity System". www.digitalfinanceanalytics.com. Digital Finance Analytics. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- ^ World Bank Fast Payments Toolkit Case Study: Australia (PDF) (Report). The World Bank Group. September 2021.
- ^ Lekakis, George (7 April 2021). "BPAY Group claims strategy shift at NPPA helped trigger Osko write-down". www.bankingday.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Osko by BPAY". www.osko.com.au. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ Proposed amalgamation of BPAY, eftpos and NPPA Australian Competition & Consumer Commission 9 September 2021
- ^ Barbaschow, Asha (8 September 2021). "ACCC gives green light to Eftpos' merger with BPay and NPPA". ZDNET. Red Ventures. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "NPP Mandated Payments Service – enabling third party payment initiation". 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Commonwealth Bank Modernises Payments with PayTo". Fintech Finance. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- ^ The New Payments Platform and Fast Settlement Service Reserve Bank of Australia 20 September 2018
- ^ Pay ID
- ^ Lekakis, George (7 April 2021). "BPAY Group claims strategy shift at NPPA helped trigger Osko write-down". www.bankingday.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ Inquiry into Future Directions for the Consumer Data Right Submission (PDF) (Report). NPP AUSTRALIA. 15 May 2020.
- ^ Supporting the Transition from BECS to Modern Payment Systems (Report). Payments System Board – RBA. 12 December 2023.
- ^ "NAB warns of new PayID scam targeting Aussies selling items online". National Australia Bank. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Amber tried to sell her bed online. Then she lost hundreds of dollars". Seven News. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Tasmanians being urged to be alert to PayID scams". Premier of Tasmania. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
