BPay timeframes

[Mal]

Why are Bpay payments so antiquated?

Here's what Commbank says about timeframes:

If a payment is made to a BPAY biller, on a weekend or public holiday, or after 3pm (EST time) Monday to Friday, the payment may be processed the next business day.

Surely the banks can get with the times and send BPay payments 7 days per week and allow much later clearance times.

Or is the "free interest" they get from the "quarantined money destined for transfer" too much of an incentive to never change?

 

[oz_mark]

Westpac is 6pm, but nothing unusual about being restricted to business days. Much of our banking system still runs on batch jobs!

 

[serfty]

ANZ states 6pm ...

However, a 7:45pm BPay I made to Amex this week was in time to show up on the Amex account the next day.

 

[Mal]

ANZ states 6pm ...

However, a 7:45pm BPay I made to Amex this week was in time to show up on the Amex account the next day.

Yeah, I've seen that with ANZ. I'm sure Commbank used to state 6pm as well.

It's just frustrating to ship money on a Friday afternoon, lose it for the weekend, and only have it credited to the Bpay biller on a Monday night/Tuesday morning.

 

[rwatts]

It's just frustrating to ship money on a Friday afternoon, lose it for the weekend, and only have it credited to the Bpay biller on a Monday night/Tuesday morning.

Which is why in such cases I schedule an automatic BPay for the Monday. I don't lose the interest over the weekend and a BPay biller has to accept the Monday as the date paid - even if they don't actually receive the funds for several more days.

Only once has a scheduled BPay stuffed up and in that instance the bank notified me of their problem and offered to cover any late fees or interest that might arise (wasnt necessary in that particular case).

Richard.

 

[Holly]

Is it true with Bpay that if I had arranged for it to be performed on a given business day, then the biller will record the transaction as having being transferred on that date, even if they haven’t received the funds yet?


I’ve always erred on the side of caution and allowed an extra business day for payments made, which is a real pain as I’ve noticed that lately, my credit card statement due dates have tended to fall on a Monday, so I’d schedule an auto BPay for the previous Friday. However, I’ve found that my funds have definitely been debited from my nab bank account on the Friday yet nothing is credited to my credit card until Monday anyway. As a result, I’ve in effect lost 2 days of interest from my bank account, as well as not having the additional credit limit available on my CC over the weekend.

 

[MelUser]

I have on a couple of ocassions BPAYed from my Cth bank account into AMEX and it has taken 2 business days.

The BPAY was well before 4pm, say on a Wed and AMEX hasn't received the money until Friday. It is always safest, in my view, 2 allow 2 business days for those things that accrue interest - eg credit/charge card accounts, council rates etc. The power company - who could care less if it's a day or 2 late!

 

[rwatts]

Is it true with Bpay that if I had arranged for it to be performed on a given business day, then the biller will record the transaction as having being transferred on that date, even if they haven’t received the funds yet?

From the BPAY Payments Questions and Answers - BPAY page...

How long will it take for the payment to go through?

As long as you make a payment before your financial institution's cut-off time (this is the time at the end of the business banking day when you need to make a payment by for it to be processed overnight), the biller will acknowledge the payment as having been made that day and should process the payment the next banking business day.
If you make a payment after your financial institution's cut-off time, the biller will acknowledge the payment as having been made on the next banking business day (this does not include weekends or public holidays).
If you are unsure of your Internet or phone banking cut-off times or require more information, please contact your financial institution directly.

Richard.

 

[Chicken]

Anything between banks is done in batches once a day, nightly from Monday night to Friday night. So if you do a transaction (to another bank or B Pay) after cut off time of your bank on Friday, then it will miss the clearing on Friday night, and will need to wait for the next clearing, which is Monday night.

All B Pay I have made had always cleared the next day.

 

[rwatts]

All B Pay I have made had always cleared the next day.

I almost always use my banks' scheduling facilities for BPAY. If it is after the cutoff time today, then I'll schedule the BPAY payment for tomorrow.

A BPAY payment made after the cutoff time today will still affect today's minimum daily balance and yet not be recognised by the payee until tomorrow anyhow (or Monday in the case of a Friday night).

Most payments are scheduled weeks or months in advance. As soon as a credit card statement comes in, payment in full by BPAY is scheduled for the due date. I've never had problems doing this. An Amex customer service person once suggested I should allow time for the payment but when I reminded her of the BPAY conditions she admitted that I was quite correct.

I know in most cases it saves only fractions of cents in interest but its the principle that matters.

Richard.

 

[serfty]

It appears to me that missing the Friday cut-off generally results in no recognition until Tuesday morning.

 

[Nutcase]

A couple of points here

Bpay clears more than once per day. Yes - In batches.

Bpay behaves a bit like credit cards as there is interchange between banks. Depending on who the billers bank is and who the customers bank is this could be immediate, or take 2 days. Case in point - If the biller and the customer both bank with ANZ - Bingo. If the customer banks with a smaller institution which clears though another bank this could cause delays.

There is talk of lost interest for a day or 2. How much are you guys Bpaying? Im guessing its not millions so the amount of interest that you are going without would be a few cents. Hardly worth it really especially given that Bpay costs nothing????

 

[oz_mark]

There is talk of lost interest for a day or 2. How much are you guys Bpaying? Im guessing its not millions so the amount of interest that you are going without would be a few cents. Hardly worth it really especially given that Bpay costs nothing????

Not argueing about the interest, but some billers do charge for using BPay (e.g. Diners charges 75c)

 

[Nutcase]

Not argueing about the interest, but some billers do charge for using BPay (e.g. Diners charges 75c)

Money well spent in my book given the alternatives like writing a cheque, Standing in line at the post office or cash

 

[JohnK]

Surely the banks can get with the times and send BPay payments 7 days per week and allow much later clearance times.

I agree. But that being said there have been times with CBA where I have missed the 3pm cutoff but the BPAY has still made it to the other party by the next day. I guess they say 3pm but in essence this could happen anytime after 3pm depending on the load on IT at the time or when the batch run is actually processed.

 

[docjames]

I thought cutoff ws 6pm with CBA?

Having said that, the occasional (non time critical) payment i've made post-6pm has made it by the following morning.

I'm surprised everyone has such issues - my experiance has been pre-6pm --> next AM there it's done.

Post 6pm --> usually not unitl next business day +1 (with rare exceptions).