⏱️ Payment Rails and Processing Times

When funds move between Virtual Accounts (VAs) and external banks, the transfer will be processed through one of two domestic rails: the New Payments Platform (NPP) or the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS). Both are widely used within the Australian banking system, but they differ significantly in speed and operation.

NPP is the modern, real-time network that allows payments to settle almost instantly. A payment lodged through NPP will be sent immediately, regardless of whether it is a weekend or public holiday. By contrast, BECS is the legacy system still used by many banks. Payments through BECS are limited by batch windows and bank operating hours.

Both NPP and BECS payments are automatically processed through our system. Once a payment is lodged, no manual intervention is required.

📘

Compliance Note:

Processing times are indicative only and do not include potential compliance-related delays. For more details, see the Transaction Monitoring Guide.

⚙️ Default Processing Logic

When a withdrawal is processed from our system, the payment will default to NPP wherever possible. This ensures speed and efficiency for the vast majority of users. However, if the recipient’s bank is not connected to the NPP network, the payment will automatically fall back to BECS. This fallback is handled seamlessly by the banking system itself - there is no need for the user to resubmit the transaction.

All Virtual Accounts we issue are NPP-enabled, but it is ultimately up to the sending bank to determine whether they send funds via NPP or BECS. While most transfers will come through NPP, this decision is outside our control. For further details on bank-specific behaviour, we recommend reviewing the Managing External Banking Providers guide.

⏰ Banking Hours and Batch Constraints

While NPP runs continuously and provides instant settlement, BECS operates under much stricter conditions. Payments through BECS are only processed during business hours - generally 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday - and are excluded from weekends, public holidays, and bank holidays. Unlike NPP, BECS payments are not processed ad hoc but instead move in batches at scheduled times throughout the day.

To assist with timing, we have provided the BECS timetable for our banking provider below. All times are quoted in AEST:

Because each bank sets its own batch schedule and does not publish these times publicly, it is virtually impossible to know in advance which batch a payment will fall into. This makes predicting settlement times unreliable, especially when payments are lodged outside of banking hours. For example:

• A customer initiates a withdrawal at 8pm Friday (after the last cut off time).
• Their bank does not process it until 11.30 am Monday (next batch run).
• The receiving bank processes its next deposit batch at 9am Tuesday (only running once a day).

In this case, what began as a Friday evening payment does not reach the recipient until four days later.

🌐 Non-Standard Payment Methods

Although NPP and BECS cover the majority of payments in Australia, there are instances where alternative methods such as RTGS and SWIFT are required.

RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) is used primarily for high-value or time-sensitive transfers. While we are able to receive RTGS deposits, we cannot send withdrawals via this method. Because RTGS attracts higher fees than NPP or BECS, we require customer approval before accepting such payments. Once approved, the payment is credited immediately upon receipt.

SWIFT is the international payments network, commonly used for cross-border transfers. SWIFT deposits must be manually reconciled by our support team to account for bank fees, and they are only processed during business hours. Withdrawals via SWIFT require manual booking with our banking provider, also limited to standard banking hours. In these cases, our team manages the process end-to-end, confirms booking details with the user, and provides information on applicable fees.

🚧

Fees and Charges

Costs apply when processing payments via RTGS or SWIFT. For more information, see our Fees and Charges guide.