Bank-to-bank payments in Australia: how they work and why they're faster

Most Australians have used PayID at least once. But few understand what's actually happening when money moves instantly between banks. Here's how Australia's payment infrastructure works and why it matters for businesses.

What is a bank-to-bank transfer?

A bank-to-bank transfer moves money directly from one bank account to another, without going through a card network like Visa or Mastercard. In Australia, most bank-to-bank transfers now run on the NPP - the New Payments Platform - which launched in 2018 and enables near-instant transfers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How long does a bank-to-bank transfer take in Australia?

For transfers on the NPP (which covers most major Australian banks), money typically arrives within 60 seconds. This is a significant improvement on the old direct entry system, which processed payments in batches and could take 1-3 business days.

Factors that can slow a transfer:

• Sending bank not yet connected to the NPP (rare for major banks)
• Transactions flagged for fraud review
• Transfers to non-participating institutions outside the NPP

For the vast majority of Australians sending money between major bank accounts, it arrives in under a minute.

What is PayID?

PayID is a service built on top of the NPP that lets you link your bank account to a simple identifier - your mobile number, email address, or ABN - instead of sharing your BSB and account number.

When someone pays your PayID, the NPP looks up which account it's linked to and routes the payment there instantly. For businesses, PayID means customers can pay you without needing to know your BSB and account number. Just your phone number or email.

Can you cancel a PayID payment?

Generally no. Because NPP transfers are near-instant and the funds are immediately available to the recipient, they cannot be recalled the way a delayed direct entry payment can be. Once a PayID payment is sent and confirmed, it is final.

If you sent money to the wrong PayID by mistake, your only option is to contact the recipient directly and request they return the funds, or contact your bank to initiate a dispute process. Recovery is not guaranteed.

What is Australia's NPP?

The New Payments Platform (NPP) is Australia's fast payments infrastructure, operated by NPP Australia Limited. It connects 100+ financial institutions and processes billions of dollars in payments each year. PayID and Osko (developed by BPAY Group) are the two main services built on the NPP.

The NPP is what makes real-time bank transfers possible in Australia. Before it launched in 2018, transfers between banks took 1-3 business days via the old direct entry system.

How QwikPay uses the NPP

QwikPay is built on NPP rails. When a customer scans a QwikPay QR code, the payment flows directly from their bank account to the merchant's account via the NPP. No card network involved.

• No Visa or Mastercard interchange fee
• No merchant service fee from a bank
• No surcharge to pass on to the customer
• Settlement into the merchant's bank account, typically within seconds

For merchants, it's a payment system with zero transaction fees. For customers, it's a payment experience that works with any Australian bank account. See how it stacks up on our merchant fees comparison, and read what the RBA surcharge ban means for your business.