If you’re a Telstra customer, your payment options will be changing in the near future. The telco is removing BPAY in favour of direct debit, but there will still be other options available.
Telstra changes its payment options
On Thursday, some Telstra customers were advised by that the company is moving away from BPAY. In an email seen by Gizmodo Australia, Telstra said this was in an effort to simplify its products and services.
“In the near future we’ll be moving away from BPAY and replacing it with direct debit,” the email reads. “Direct debit is a secure, easy and contactless way to make payments.”
Telstra also argued that direct debit is a convenient payment method that avoids late fees.
According to a Telstra spokesperson, the company has been moving customers onto direct debit since making it the preferred payment method back in 2018.
Direct debit won’t be the only solution
It’s worth noting that not all Australians are fans of direct debit, preferring to stay on top of their finances by paying bills manually. Fortunately, Telstra will not be forcing all customers onto the new payment method if they’d rather not use it.
“We know that there will always be customers who prefer to pay their bills in person so there will still be a solution that will enable customers to pay over the counter at Australia Post,” the spokesperson said in an email to Gizmodo Australia.
This solution is Post BillPay, a payment method run by Australia Post. It’s quite similar to BPAY and allows you to pay bills (to billers who accept BillPay) either at the Post Office or online. Telstra has confirmed with Gizmodo Australia its Post BillPay offerings will not include the online element.
And for any BPAY customers, it’s not disappearing yet, so you can continue using it for the time being.
“There’s no fixed date for removing BPAY and customers don’t have to move to direct debit just yet if they’re not ready. For now, they can still choose their preferred payment method based on their needs.”
This story was originally published on October 8 at 17:21. It has been updated to include additional Post BillPay information from Telstra.