BPAY — Bill Payment System

Overview

BPAY is Australia's bill payment scheme that allows customers to pay bills electronically using a Biller Code and a Customer Reference Number (CRN). It operates over the BECS infrastructure and is one of the highest-volume payment methods in Australia.

• Operator: BPAY Group (subsidiary of AusPayNet)
• Launched: 1997
• Volume: ~1 billion transactions per year
• Infrastructure: Built on BECS Direct Entry
• Availability: Payments initiated 24/7; processing next business day

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How BPAY Works

Customer (Payer)
     │
     │  1. Gets bill with:
     │     - Biller Code (4-6 digits)
     │     - CRN (up to 20 digits)
     │     - Amount
     │
     │  2. Logs into banking app / phone banking
     │  3. Selects "Pay Bill" → enters Biller Code + CRN + Amount
     │
     ▼
Customer's Bank (Financial Institution)
     │
     │  4. Validates Biller Code against BPAY register
     │  5. Validates CRN format (Luhn check variant)
     │  6. Debits customer account
     │  7. Batches into BPAY file
     │
     ▼
BPAY Clearing (via BECS)
     │
     │  8. Files submitted by 5 PM cut-off
     │  9. BPAY clears and routes to biller's bank
     │
     ▼
Biller's Bank
     │
     │  10. Credits biller's account
     │  11. Provides remittance file to biller
     │      (Biller Code + CRN + Amount + Date)
     │
     ▼
Biller (Creditor)
     │
     │  12. Matches CRN to invoice / customer record
     │  13. Marks invoice as paid

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BPAY Key Identifiers

Biller Code

- 4 to 6 digit number assigned by BPAY
- Uniquely identifies the biller organisation
- Registered in the BPAY biller directory
- Printed on every bill/invoice

Example:  Biller Code 12345 = AGL Energy

Customer Reference Number (CRN)

- Up to 20 digits
- Set by the biller; unique per customer or invoice
- Contains a check digit (mod-10 Luhn variant)
- Printed alongside Biller Code on the bill

Examples:
  Account-based CRN:  Customer account number
  Invoice-based CRN:  Invoice number
  Property-based CRN: Property ID + check digit

CRN Validation (Luhn-like check)

public boolean validateCrn(String crn) {
    // BPAY uses a Luhn variant (weight pattern 1,3,7,9...)
    int[] weights = {1, 3, 7, 9};
    int sum = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < crn.length() - 1; i++) {
        sum += Character.getNumericValue(crn.charAt(i)) 
               * weights[i % 4];
    }
    int checkDigit = (10 - (sum % 10)) % 10;
    return checkDigit == Character.getNumericValue(
        crn.charAt(crn.length() - 1));
}

---

BPAY File Format

BPAY uses a proprietary flat file based on BECS DE format with BPAY-specific extensions:

Record Type 0  — File Header
Record Type 2  — BPAY Credit Transaction
  Fields:
  ├── BSB (biller's bank BSB)
  ├── Account (biller's account)
  ├── Amount (in cents)
  ├── Biller Code
  ├── CRN (Customer Reference Number)
  ├── Payment date
  └── Lodgement reference
Record Type 7  — File Trailer (net totals)

---

BPAY Processing Windows

Event	Time (AEST)
Payment initiated by customer	24/7
Bank submission cut-off	5:00 PM
BPAY clearing & routing	Overnight
Credit to biller's account	Next business day AM
Remittance file to biller	Next business day AM

Important: Payments made after 5 PM are processed the next business day. Some banks apply a "same-day BPAY" service for payments before a specific intraday cut-off (e.g., 2 PM).

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BPAY vs NPP vs Direct Debit

Feature	BPAY	NPP / Osko	BECS Direct Debit
Initiator	Customer (push)	Customer (push)	Biller (pull)
Speed	Next business day	< 15 seconds	Next business day
Identifier	Biller Code + CRN	PayID / BSB+Account	BSB + Account
Remittance	Biller Code + CRN	280 chars free text	Lodgement ref
Dispute window	7 days	N/A	7 days
Bill-specific	✅ Yes	❌ Generic	❌ Generic

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BPAY Remittance to Biller

After clearing, the biller receives a remittance file containing:

For each payment:
  - Biller Code
  - CRN (Customer Reference Number)   ← key for matching to invoice
  - Amount paid
  - Payment date
  - Customer's bank BSB
  - Processing date

The biller's accounts receivable system must match these records to open invoices using the CRN.

---

BPAY View

BPAY View is an e-billing extension that allows billers to present digital bills directly in customers' banking apps:

Biller generates bill
     │  [Electronic bill via BPAY View]
     ▼
Customer sees bill in banking app
     │  Biller Code, CRN, amount pre-filled
     ▼
Customer clicks "Pay"  (no manual data entry)
     │
     ▼
Standard BPAY payment flow

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BPAY Error & Exception Codes

Code	Description
01	Invalid Biller Code
02	Invalid CRN
03	Amount mismatch (if biller restricts amount)
04	Biller not accepting payments
05	Duplicate payment
06	Account closed / invalid

---

Java Spring Integration Notes

@Service
public class BpayPaymentService {

    public BpayPaymentResult processPayment(BpayPaymentRequest request) {
        // 1. Validate Biller Code
        BillerDetails biller = billerRegistry
            .findByCode(request.getBillerCode())
            .orElseThrow(() -> new InvalidBillerCodeException(request.getBillerCode()));
        
        // 2. Validate CRN check digit
        if (!crnValidator.validate(request.getCrn())) {
            throw new InvalidCrnException(request.getCrn());
        }
        
        // 3. Validate amount (some billers restrict to exact amount)
        if (biller.isFixedAmount() && 
            !biller.getFixedAmount().equals(request.getAmount())) {
            throw new AmountMismatchException();
        }
        
        // 4. Check balance
        accountService.checkSufficientFunds(
            request.getDebtorAccountId(), request.getAmount());
        
        // 5. Debit customer account
        String ledgerRef = ledgerService.postDebit(
            request.getDebtorAccountId(), request.getAmount(), 
            "BPAY " + request.getBillerCode() + " " + request.getCrn());
        
        // 6. Add to BPAY batch for clearing
        bpayBatchService.addToBatch(BpayBatchItem.builder()
            .billerCode(request.getBillerCode())
            .crn(request.getCrn())
            .amount(request.getAmount())
            .billerBsb(biller.getBsb())
            .billerAccount(biller.getAccountNumber())
            .build());
        
        return BpayPaymentResult.success(ledgerRef);
    }
}

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Related Concepts

• outbound.md — BPAY is an outbound payment
• direct_debit.md — Pull-based alternative for recurring bills
• npp.md — Real-time alternative for one-off payments
• clearing.md — BPAY clears via BECS infrastructure
• reconciliation.md — CRN-based remittance matching