Commonwealth Bank has become the first big bank to make the switch to PayTo, a new digital way to authorise payments from customers’ bank accounts.
PayTo, the latest initiative from New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA), will enable eligible CBA customers to manage one-off or recurring new PayTo payment agreements within the security of the CommBank App and NetBank, including the ability to view, authorise, pause, or cancel payment agreements.
This PayTo payer capability can help CBA customers take more control over payments that come directly from their bank accounts, including for regular bills, subscriptions, and one-off payments and may also reduce fraud, as each new digital PayTo payment agreement is authorised through secure banking platforms such as the CommBank App and NetBank.
“PayTo has the potential to revolutionise payments in Australia,” said Ethan Teas, CBA executive general manager payments. “We’re delighted to be at the forefront of this as the first major Australian bank to offer the PayTo capabilities for our payer customers, and to trial the capabilities for our business customers.”
In another first for a major Australian bank, CBA, in partnership with A2A payments fintech successfully completed a PayTo trial with business customers Telstra and The Shepherd Centre.
Telstra used PayTo to create a payment agreement to enable a customer to make a bill payment, while The Shepherd Centre, a disability service provider for children with hearing loss, used PayTo to create a payment agreement to enable a donor to make a donation.
“The trial transactions we have undertaken with two of our business customers are proof of the benefits that could be on offer to the broader business community, and we look forward to working with our partners to make PayTo a force for positive change in the months and years ahead,” Teas said.
PayTo for payee CBA business customers is currently in the trial phase. When fully launched, eligible CBA business customers will be able to establish PayTo payment agreements as an alternative to direct debit arrangements as well as third-party initiated payments like salary disbursements. CBA business customers may also be able to accept PayTo payments in e-commerce environments as an alternative to credit and debit card payments.
