In 2021 Australian businesses and consumers lost $227 million to scammers who pretended to be another person or company – like a tradesman, utility company or a government department – and tricked customers into making payments into a different account.
Unfortunately, these types of scammers have been around for a long time, but now PayID is making life a little bit harder for them.
That’s because when you make a payment to another person’s or business’s PayID, you get to see their name before confirming the payment.
And it's working!
Our research shows that one in four payments to a PayID have been stopped or edited, preventing money being sent to the wrong person, who may have been a scammer.
Here's how businesses can fight fraud with PayID
Set up a PayID at your participating bank and link it to your business account. You can choose something easy to remember, like your phone number or email address, to be your PayID.
You can then include your PayID as a payment option for your customers, including on your invoices. When they pay you, they will see the name you have chosen when they type in your PayID.
If the name displayed isn’t yours, they can stop making the payment and double check the details before completing the payment. If the name displayed is yours, they hit confirm and the money arrives in your account almost instantly.
It’s your choice
BSB and account numbers haven’t disappeared altogether; they are still an important identifier for your account. PayID just provides a more convenient and safer option.
Your customers can still use your BSB and account number but without the benefit of the additional confirmation step.
For more information about PayID, log in to your internet and mobile banking and look for PayID in the menu or search, or speak to your bank, building society or credit union.
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