PayID and PayTo for online payments in Australia
Short answer: PayID and PayTo both run on Australia's real-time payments network, but they do opposite jobs. PayID is how customers push money to you quickly (they pay your phone number, email, ABN or a unique invoice PayID from their banking app). PayTo lets you pull payments from a customer's account under an agreement they approve in their own banking, which makes it the modern option for checkouts, subscriptions and recurring bills.
If you've ever had a customer ask "can I just PayID you?", you've met half of this already. The other half, PayTo, is what most businesses mean when they search for a direct debit replacement.
How the pieces fit together
Australian Payments Plus (AP+) runs the infrastructure, and its pages describe three names you'll keep seeing:
- NPP and Osko: the plumbing. Osko sends bank transfers between participating banks in under a minute, around the clock. AP+ notes some payments may be held for security checks.
- PayID: an easy-to-remember identifier linked to a bank account. For a business that can be a mobile number, email address, ABN or Organisation Identifier. The payer sees the name linked to the PayID before they hit send.
- PayTo: a payment agreement. The customer authorises it in their online banking, and you can then collect one-off, ad hoc or regular payments within the terms they agreed.
PayID: the customer pushes
The customer opens their banking app, enters your PayID and the amount, checks the name that comes up, and sends. Osko lets the payer include up to 280 characters of description when both accounts support it, and AP+ suggests asking customers to put the invoice number in the reference field.
AP+ also notes that some businesses give customers a unique email PayID for a payment. That's the clever version for invoicing: each invoice or customer gets its own PayID, so the payment matches itself without anyone reading references.
PayTo: you pull, with permission
With PayTo, your checkout or billing system creates an agreement containing the amount, purpose and frequency. It appears in the customer's online banking, they review and authorise it, and you can then collect in line with those terms. AP+'s business page lists what you get back: real-time sign-up and verification, notifications when a payment succeeds or fails, and notifications when the customer pauses or cancels the agreement.
That last point is the big change from older direct debits. The customer can see and manage every agreement in their banking app, so cancellations happen there rather than through you. Build your system to react to those notifications.
Where each fits
| Situation | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Trade or service invoices | PayID (ideally unique per invoice) | Customer pays from their app; you're paid in real time |
| Online checkout, one-off order | PayTo (or cards) | Customer approves in their banking without typing BSB details |
| Memberships, subscriptions, instalments | PayTo | Recurring agreement, customer can pause or cancel in their banking |
| Variable bills (utilities-style, usage) | PayTo with a maximum amount | Agreement allows charges up to a set limit |
| Customers who just want to transfer | Show your PayID | The name check reduces misdirected payments |
A few caveats from the providers' own pages:
- Bank support varies. AP+ provides a bank finder for both Osko and PayTo. Check that your customers' common banks are on it before making PayTo your only recurring option.
- Limits matter for recurring agreements. Stripe's PayTo documentation advises specifying the least permissive mandate terms you need and always setting an amount, because several banks always reject mandates without one.
- Status isn't always instant on your side. Stripe describes PayTo as giving delayed notification of success or failure, typically within 60 seconds of the customer authorising the mandate. Don't show "paid" before the confirmation arrives.
Setup options
Route 1: receive PayID payments
Ask your business bank to register a PayID for your account (an ABN or business email is common). Put it on your invoices next to the BSB and account number, with a line asking for the invoice number as the reference. This takes no development work.
If you send lots of invoices, ask your bank or accounting provider whether they offer unique PayIDs per invoice or per customer, and whether incoming payments can be matched automatically.
Route 2: offer PayTo through a payment provider
AP+ says a business needs to be sponsored as a PayTo User to offer PayTo. In practice, small businesses get that through their payment service provider or bank rather than arranging it themselves.
With Stripe, for example, PayTo appears as a payment method for Australian businesses taking AUD. The documentation lists support for one-off and recurring payments, refunds and partial refunds, disputes, and Billing, and notes that Stripe asks for extra identity verification before you can use it. Other providers have their own versions.
Steps that apply whichever provider you choose:
- Turn PayTo on in the provider's dashboard and complete any verification.
- Decide the agreement terms for each product: fixed or maximum amount, frequency, start date.
- Write a short line for checkout: "You'll approve this in your banking app."
- Handle the events: payment succeeded, payment failed, agreement paused, agreement cancelled.
- Test with two or three real banks on mobile and desktop.
Route 3: migrate existing direct debit customers
If you already collect by direct debit, ask your provider whether it can create PayTo agreements from existing bank details. Stripe documents a flow that uses AU BECS customer details to set up PayTo agreements. Customers still have to authorise the new agreement, so plan the email that asks them to.
FAQ
Can customers pay my PayID from any bank?
PayID payments work through participating banks' online banking, and AP+ says PayID is offered by over 100 financial institutions. Use AP+'s bank finder for the current list.
Is PayTo replacing direct debit?
It's offered as a digital alternative for many uses, but existing direct debit arrangements still exist. Ask your provider about its plans and timelines rather than assuming a date.
Can a customer cancel a PayTo agreement without telling me?
Yes, from their banking app, which is why your system needs to process the cancellation notification and update access or billing automatically.
Do I need a developer for PayTo?
Not if your checkout or billing platform already offers it as a payment method. You'll need development work for a custom portal, or to manage agreement events in your own systems.
If you're weighing whether to move memberships from cards or direct debit to PayTo, share how your billing runs now and we'll map the switch.