More than 100 Orange Credit Union [OCU] customers have been quick to sign up for a faster banking system.
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The nationwide New Payments Platform [NPP] became available at banks, credit unions, building societies and financial institutions from Tuesday.
It allows people to send money and pay bills almost instantly online – compared with the present scheme which can take three days for money to be transferred.
Consumers will no longer need a BSB or account number to make the person-to-person transfer.
Instead they will create a ‘PayID’ which allows them to link their bank account to an email address, phone number or ABN number for businesses.
You will need to download an app to your device to connect to the scheme.
The OCU joined the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank and other financial institutions in introducing the complete scheme, but some have delayed a full introduction.
OCU corporate services manager Clint Fearnley said more than 100 customers had signed up for the scheme in the three days leading up to the start date.
Mr Fearnley said he expected many customers would connect to the NPP to be able to access a “faster, smarter, simpler” way to pay and get paid.
“If you’re out at dinner with people [and want to split the bill] you can pay each other in a minute,” he said.
“Tradies can be paid straight away.”
It will also remove delays in payment transfers caused by weekends and public holidays.
A similar scheme was rolled out in the UK 10 years ago and has run into problems over a lack of safeguards leading to reports of fraud, abuse and people having to sort out problems themselves without their financial institution’s help.
However Mr Fearnley said the Australian scheme was much safer.
He said the same safeguards built into the existing system of payment transfers would apply to the NPP.
He said there would be 24/7 monitoring of all transactions with the ability for financial institutions to block payments where fraud was suspected or detected.
Mr Fearnley said financial institutions would continue to be able to investigate transactions where an error had been made by customers.
He said there were no charges for using the NPP.
The Regional Australia Bank has also adopted NPP.
Senior Manager of Transformational Change Chris Stace said it was a “game-changer.”
“The NPP creates a world where banking transactions happen in real time, 24/7, 365 days a year using a service called Osko,” he said.