Nowadays, Australians are presented with a variety of payment options. Cash, debit card, credit card, direct debit, buy now pay later, PayPal, and yes, cheque, just to name a few. Australia is one of the world’s leading countries when it comes to payment market maturity and variety. BPAY is essentially another way to pay for some goods and services, but what is it exactly, and how does it work?

In the market for a personal loan? The table below features personal loans with some of the lowest interest rates on the market.

Rates
Features
Fees
Other
Lender
FixedUnsecuredN/A
More details
Loan amounts from $2k to $75k
  • No ongoing or early exit fees
  • 1-7 years loan terms. Pay monthly, fortnightly, or weekly
  • Get quick decision. Funds in 24 hrs if approved
Loan amounts from $2k to $75k

Low Rate Personal Loan Unsecured (Excellent Credit)

  • No ongoing or early exit fees
  • 1-7 years loan terms. Pay monthly, fortnightly, or weekly
  • Get quick decision. Funds in 24 hrs if approved
More details
FixedUnsecuredN/AN/A
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Unsecured Personal Loan (Excellent Credit)

    More details
    VariableUnsecuredN/AN/A
    More details

    Personal Loan

      More details
      • Interest rates start at 14.95% and could be as high as 27.95% based on your personal circumstances and loan term
      • Australian residents and citizens only
      • Personal Loans from $5,000 to $25,000, with loan terms ranging from 24 - 48 months
      • Terms, Conditions and Lending Criteria apply

      More details
      Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

      All products with a link to a product provider’s website have a commercial marketing relationship between us and these providers. These products may appear prominently and first within the search tables regardless of their attributes and may include products marked as promoted, featured or sponsored. The link to a product provider’s website will allow you to get more information or apply for the product. By de-selecting “Show online partners only” additional non-commercialised products may be displayed and re-sorted at the top of the table. For more information on how we’ve selected these “Sponsored”, “Featured” and “Promoted” products, the products we compare, how we make money, and other important information about our service, please click here.

      The comparison rates in this table are based on a loan of $30,000 and a term of 5 years unless indicated otherwise. The comparison rates are for unsecured personal loans only for the relevant amounts and terms. The comparison rates for car loans and secured personal loans are for secured loans unless indicated otherwise. WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. Comparison rates are not calculated for revolving credit products.

      Monthly repayment figures are estimates only, exclude fees and are based on the advertised rate for the term and for the loan amount entered. Actual repayments will depend on your individual circumstances and interest rate changes. Rates correct as of April 19, 2024. View disclaimer.

      What is BPAY?

      As the name might suggest, ‘BPAY’ is essentially short for ‘bill pay'. BPAY is an easy and secure way to manage your bills with one payment method all through your online or mobile banking. BPAY has been in business for more than 20 years, and is available across more than 150 banks and financial institutions. An additional 60,000 businesses also offer BPAY as a payments option. It is also available with other bill payment innovations such as Sniip. Really, it’s become as ubiquitous as cash or a debit card.

      A recent survey commissioned by BPAY shows nearly three in four Millennials are frustrated with managing direct debit payments. Nearly a third are also worried about not having enough money in their account when direct debits are processed. With BPAY, a lot of that hassle is eliminated, so how does it work?

      How does BPAY work?

      BPAY is most often presented as an option when it comes time to pay some bills. You’ve most likely seen the logo on your phone or internet bill, or your electricity/gas bill. Unlike direct debit, when you pay with BPAY you are in control - you control exactly what you spend, and securely too.

      Usually when a bill comes in and it’s time to make a payment, you head to your online or mobile banking portal. From there, you click on ‘Pay’ or ‘Transfer’ or whatever your institution’s terminology is, and BPAY is usually presented as an option. Then, you enter the payee’s biller code, and your unique customer reference number.

      You can see in the screen grab below my internet bill from Optus - I’ve whitened out the customer reference number, so don’t go paying my bills heheh.

      Optusbpay.jpg

      BPAY View

      BPAY also offers a service called ‘View’. Quite simply, using View, bills are delivered directly to your bank account, so your bills don’t get lost in your email inbox or in the mail. This makes it possible to keep it all in one place for easy payments. Note that some institutions might not have this feature - so double check your bank account to make sure.

      BPAY Processing Times

      If your payment is made on a bank business day before 6pm (Sydney/Melbourne time… of course), it will be debited from your account instantly, and processed that day. The biller is required (under BPAY’s rules) to treat your payment as being received on that same day. However, if you make a payment on a weekend, public holiday, or after 6pm, it will likely be processed the next business day. As you might expect, Christmas and Easter might present some interesting hurdles, so plan your bill payments accordingly.

      BPAY compared to other payments options

      When it comes to paying bills, there are a whole host of payment options, and frankly, BPAY comes out on top in a lot of scenarios.

      Pros

      • It’s cheaper than other payments: Paying bills via debit or credit card often attracts a fee of 1% or more, and so too does paying via Australia Post, for example.

      • You are in control: Unlike direct debit, payment is in your hands with BPAY. With direct debit, you are essentially giving your payee permission to take money out of your account. Stopping that usually requires a call to the payee, which can be a pain.

      Cons

      • Not automatic unless you set it up that way: As you are in control, BPAY bill payments are not automatic unless they are set up that way. However, this is usually able to be done in seconds through your online or mobile banking portal.

      • Limited recourse for refunds: Your bank can’t get a refund for a BPAY payment if a business doesn’t deliver. This is at odds with say, credit cards and PayPal, where the institution goes into bat for you - but you usually pay accordingly with the fees they charge to transact through them.

      BPAY Biller Code Lookup - Popular Brands

      • Telstra Corporation Ltd - 23796

      • Optus

        • Mobile - 3079

        • TV/Net Cable - 3087

      • Vodafone Postpaid - 5225

      • Origin

        • Electricity - 747428

        • Gas - 747436

        • LPG (Qld) - 5660

      • EnergyAustralia - 3111

      • AGL Electricity & Gas - 208868

      • Woolworths

        • Woolworths Limited - 187997

        • Credit Card - 17574

        • Ezy Banking - 24448

        • Mobile - 646745

      • Coles

        • Target Group Card - 8730

        • KMart Group Card - 8813

        • Coles Mastercard - 8862

        • Coles Insurance Claims - 275057

      These details were correct at time of writing. If in doubt, check the BPAY website, or confirm the biller code on your bill.

      Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash