Proposals · Glossary

What is PayID?

PayID is an easy to remember identifier, such as a mobile number, email address, ABN or organisation identifier, that an Australian business or person links to their bank account. Customers pay it from the Pay Anyone section of online banking, see the account name before they send, and the money usually arrives in near real time.

Small businesses in Australia are increasingly asked whether they take PayID. It sits between a bank transfer and a card payment: as cheap as the first for most businesses and much faster than it.

Indunil Asanka · Co-founder

4 min read · Published 21 October 2026

Three ways an Australian customer can pay an invoice
Method	What the customer enters	Speed	Name shown before paying
PayID	An email, mobile number or ABN	Usually within a minute between participating banks	Yes, the name linked to the PayID
BSB and account number	A 6 digit BSB and the account number	Same day to next business day, faster where both banks use the New Payments Platform	Depends on the bank
Card through a pay link	Card details on a hosted checkout page	Card approved at once, funds settle to the business later	The business name on the checkout page

How PayID works

PayID runs on the New Payments Platform, the infrastructure Australian banks built for fast account to account payments that the Reserve Bank describes as available around the clock. The business registers a PayID with its bank, choosing an identifier it controls such as its ABN or an accounts email, and links it to one account. A customer paying types that identifier instead of a BSB and account number. Australian Payments Plus, which runs PayID, says it is offered by more than 100 financial institutions, usually inside the Pay Anyone screen.

Why the name check matters

When a customer types a PayID, their bank shows the name registered to it before they confirm. That is the feature that makes it useful against invoice fraud. A common scam swaps the bank details on a real looking invoice; with PayID, a customer expecting Kookaburra Dog Grooming who sees a stranger's name can stop before sending. It does not make every payment safe, but it removes a step where a typed number could quietly go to the wrong account.

When to offer it

PayID suits businesses paid by individuals and small businesses who bank online: trades, personal services, local retail, clubs and anyone tired of waiting a day for transfers to clear. It is less useful for large business customers, whose accounts teams pay suppliers in scheduled batches from their own systems. Card payment through a pay link still matters for customers who want to use credit or pay on a phone without opening their banking app.

Scams to warn customers about

Australian Payments Plus is explicit that PayID will never contact a customer directly and will never ask anyone to send money in order to receive money or to upgrade an account. Messages claiming otherwise are scams, often aimed at people selling items online. If you list PayID on invoices, it helps to say on the invoice that you will never change payment details by email, and that customers should check the displayed name matches your business before paying.

Where it shows up in the product

Invoices in the proposals module have a pay link that opens a public pay page with the amount due, the items, the PDF and bank details, and a Pay now button that runs Stripe Checkout on the owner's connected Stripe account on paid plans. Payments by bank transfer, including PayID, are marked paid by hand. If you take PayID, state the identifier and the business name in your payment terms so it appears on every invoice.

Questions people ask

Is PayID free for businesses?

Whether a business pays a fee to receive PayID payments depends on its bank and account type, so check your bank's fee schedule. Many business accounts treat incoming PayID payments like any other incoming transfer. It is usually far cheaper than card processing, which carries a percentage fee on every payment.

Can I use my ABN as a PayID?

Yes. An ABN is one of the identifiers PayID supports, alongside mobile numbers, email addresses and organisation identifiers. Using the ABN suits businesses that already print it on every tax invoice, because the customer can copy it from the same document, and it avoids publishing a personal mobile number.

What happens if a PayID payment goes to the wrong person?

Because the customer sees the registered name before sending, mistaken payments are less common than with a BSB and account number. If one happens, the customer should contact their bank straight away to request a recall. Recovery is not guaranteed, which is why checking the displayed name matters.

Can one business have more than one PayID?

Yes. A business can register several identifiers, such as an accounts email for invoices and an ABN, and link them to the same or different accounts. Each identifier can only be linked to one account at a time, so moving banks means moving the PayID, which the old bank must release.

Do I still need to show my BSB if I list a PayID?

It is sensible to show both, because a few customers bank with institutions that do not offer PayID or prefer to pay by account number from their own accounting system. Print the PayID first for speed, the BSB and account number below it, and never change either by email without confirming by phone.

Is PayID safe for a business to publish on invoices?

Generally yes. A PayID only lets people send money to the linked account; it cannot be used to withdraw funds. The main risk is scammers copying your invoice layout and swapping in their own details, so tell customers you will never change payment details by email and that the displayed name should match your business.

Make one with proposals

The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.

Create a proposal with OneCraft

Sources

Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked 21 October 2026.