I want to receive payments

Being able to readily accept payments is crucial to any business, because the quicker you're paid and the less time spent chasing payments, the healthier your cash flow (and work/life balance) could be.

What type of business are you?

Depending on your business type, you may already have a good idea of how you'd like to receive payments. But with new payment technology becoming available every year, are you aware of all your possible options and what might work best for your business?

Find your business type in this table, then see below for more information about some of the payment receiving options available. Or click on the links in the table to view details of selected Westpac services that may be relevant.

EFTPOS

An Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale (EFTPOS) system accepts both credit cards and debit cards, including those linked to enabled mobile devices. Your EFTPOS terminal can be positioned on the counter; or carried to tables if it has wireless capability.

EFTPOS terminals read either the card’s magnetic stripe or its embedded chip, and there are two main types:

1. A standalone device – such as Westpac EFTPOS 1

2. EFTPOS that integrates with a compatible point of sale (POS) system – such as Westpac Presto Smart (wirelessly connects to a wide variety of POS systems) and EFTPOS1i (integrates with 200+ POS systems via Linkly software).

Convenient contactless payments

Most new credit and debit cards feature ‘tap & go’ technology that allows customers to simply hold their card or enabled mobile device close to the EFTPOS terminal to make a payment. No signature or PIN is required up to an agreed limit.

Fast settlement

At the end of each trading day, you 'settle' the terminal to access that day's takings. Depending on your bank, you may have a fixed time every day when your accounts settle or (as is the case with Westpac), you could have more flexible instant settlement options. 

Monthly plan costs and/or transaction (and other) fees generally apply. Make sure you’re clear about the likely costs before choosing your EFTPOS system.

Mobile EFTPOS

If you’re running a business on the go you can choose a mobile EFTPOS terminal (such as EFTPOS 1) that doesn't need to be connected to power or phone lines.

For portability and convenience these units run off rechargeable battery packs and use mobile data (using your bank's preferred network provider). This enables you to take the sale straight to your customer for instant card payment – at their table or home, your market stall, or wherever your business operates.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) and BPAY

If your business issues invoices, a straightforward way to accept electronic payments is to include your bank account and BSB numbers on each invoice. Customers enter these details in their online banking to transfer funds from their account to yours. 

EFT is a simple and inexpensive way to receive payments and avoids the old problem of bouncing cheques. However, the process of reconciling invoices against payments can be convoluted. Biz Invoice (see below) helps eligible account holders with this aspect of keeping track of payments against invoices.

BPAY – which processes payments and delivers cleared funds direct to your nominated account – is another way you can accept electronic payments. Fees similar to credit and debit cards apply to BPAY, but it does provide the advantage that you don't have to give your bank account details out to too many customers. Plus, payment reports can be imported into your compatible accounting software for easier admin.

Biz Invoice online invoicing

If you hold a Westpac Business One Low or High Plan¹ transaction account or a foreign currency account (other than in Chinese Yuan RMB)¹ you can use our handy Biz Invoice invoicing tool through online banking¹. Biz Invoice lets you create an invoice template, then generate, email and manage invoices from your smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. It is complimentary with your account, though other fees and charges may apply.

In addition to the default EFT payment option featured on the invoice template, if your Biz Invoice is linked to a transaction account and you’re an eligible sole trader, you can add BPAY as an option, allowing you to accept credit cards – for which fees and charges apply². Please note, this does not apply to foreign currency accounts.

Hosted (plug and play) solution

If yours is a smaller eCommerce business, an off-the-shelf online payment system that’s hosted externally to your site could be the way to go. A plug and play solution – such as Westpac hosted PayWay¹ – takes care of payments in a safe and secure environment, whilst avoiding the expense of setting up your own bespoke system.

This could be ideal if you just want to give customers the convenience of paying bills (including periodic payments) online, in the knowledge that their credit card details are being entrusted to a reputable financial institution.

Virtual Terminal

If your customers don't physically present a card when you make a sale, you may not need to have an EFTPOS terminal taking up desk space. You and your staff can take card payments via a secure web page (known as a Virtual Terminal), inputting the card information much like anyone would who’s buying from a website. 

If you choose a system such as PayWay Virtual Terminal¹, you’ll be able to process card payments online for orders that have been received via a physical order form, by email or over the phone. The funds involved will be set up to sweep/settle to your nominated business transaction account.

Online payments

Customers are increasingly looking online to research and complete a whole range of purchases and payments. The challenge for businesses is to provide the most convenient payment methods that best fit the product or service offered and the technical resources and budget available.

The online payment solution you choose will depend on the way you sell online. Which of these statements best describes your situation?

My website sells products/services with a shopping cart 

If you have access to IT experts, you may wish to consider a fully integrated eCommerce solution (see below). 

If you have little or no IT support or access to it, you could try a hosted plug and play option (see above).

My website showcases products/services, but has no shopping cart

It’s worth considering a hosted plug and play option with this scenario too (see above).

I have no website, but still want customers to be able to pay online

Again, a hosted plug and play option could be the way to go. 

With Westpac hosted PayWay¹ you have the option of adding your own Virtual Terminal to take card details over the phone or via a physical order form – and you can even be set you up with a 1300 number and interactive voice response.

I have an IT expert working on my busy eCommerce site

If you are taking many online payments and have a talented developer working on your site, you may want to investigate using an API (application programming interface) such as Westpac's own PayWay API. Another option is to choose an approved third-party payment gateway, which is an intermediary between your shopping cart and the bank that securely processes encrypted payments. 

Either option will allow your website or software to talk seamlessly directly to the bank's credit card processing functions for real-time, straight-through payment authorisation.

With this approach, you need to be mindful of securely managing card information that will meet the Payment Cards Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). If you’re after a simple solution that already complies with these standards, you could consider hosted plug and play¹ (see above).

Recurring billing

If yours is the type of business that receives regular weekly/monthly/annual payments for things such as subscriptions or repayments, it may be worth considering a system such as PayWay Recurring Billing¹.

It lets you set up and forget payment schedules, and offers the option to securely store your customers’ credit card and bank account details. Receipts – which can be customised with your logo – are issued by email following each card payment or direct debit, and you’ll be able to view reports ranging from failed payments and expiring credit cards to invoice reconciliations. 

Batch payments

If you’re currently manually processing a large number of credit card transactions, you could consider a batch payment solution such as PayWay Batch Payments¹. Rather than process transaction by transaction, you build a payment file containing credit card details, transaction references and payment amounts. Periodically the file can then be uploaded into a secure portal for processing, including (with PayWay) real-time authorisation.