The industry-first partnership sets a new standard for real-time, secure pay-by-bank customer bill payments in the utilities sector
Zepto, Australia's leading innovator in account-to-account payments, has today announced a partnership with electricity and gas provider Red Energy to offer PayTo for bill payments — setting a new standard for fast and secure payments in the utilities sector.
Award-winning Red Energy, renowned for its customer-first approach, is the first major utility provider to implement PayTo as it strives to continually enhance the customer payment experience.
PayTo is now live for one-off bill payments for Red Energy and Lumo Energy, which provide electricity and gas to more than 1.4 million customers in Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, South East Queensland, and South Australia.
Developed by Australian Payments Plus as part of the New Payment Platform, PayTo allows Red Energy customers to initiate and settle real-time bill payments directly from their bank account, giving them greater control and transparency over their payments.
PayTo also offers increased protection against fraud. PayTo agreements must first be authorised within the trusted environment of a customer's internet or mobile banking app. This means they are subject to the same level of security. Once the customer authorises the Red Energy PayTo agreement, bill payments can be processed instantly, directly from the bank account.
With the legacy Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) set to be decommissioned by 2030, Red Energy saw this as an opportunity to get on the front foot for its customers, placing the utilities provider at the forefront of payments innovation.
Speaking to why Red Energy took the leap as a first-mover, Anthony Young, Retail Financial Controller, Red Energy, said: "Red Energy's partnership with Zepto is about improving our customers' experience and providing them with faster and more secure payment options. The ability to interact with our customers in real-time was a big driver for us in adopting PayTo early. At the same time, PayTo provides a single touch point for customers in their banking app, giving them comfort and control over their bill payments."
“The launch of PayTo is an important step in our digital transformation strategy as it helps us future-proof our payment systems. As we move towards a world where everything, including payments, is managed through the device in our pocket and legacy systems like BECS begin to phase out, we see the New Payments Platform and partners like Zepto as integral to the future of payments—and we're excited to be the first utility provider to offer PayTo to its customers.”
Anthony Young
Red Energy's initial rollout of PayTo will focus on one-off bill payments and refunds, with plans to expand the service to include recurring payments, integration into its mobile app and the payment of solar rebates to customers.
Chris Jewell, CEO, Zepto said: "We're excited to partner with Red Energy on this industry-first initiative. Consumers today demand speed, security and convenience. However, many enterprises are hindered by complex tapestries of payment flows tethered to legacy systems such as BECS—and we’re laser-focused on unshackling the potential of modern payment experiences.
“This collaboration underscores this mission: to level the paying field for large enterprises looking to transform their payment experiences to meet the needs of the modern, on-demand economy. We’re looking forward to being a part of Red Energy’s long-term payments transformation journey.”
Chris Jewell
As Australia’s first non-ADI directly connected to the NPP for PayTo, Zepto is pioneering a new era of financial infrastructure. With Zepto's modern payments API, large enterprises can unlock a world where payments move in real-time with enhanced transaction data. A world where they can optimise for end-user experience over trade offs to outdated payment methods no longer fit-for-purpose in a real-time, always-on economy.
Commenting on this partnership Tim Fagan, General Manager of Business Payments at Australian Payments Plus (AP+) said: “We’re delighted to see Red Energy take advantage of PayTo. It offers greater control and visibility for both businesses and consumers while enabling payments to be processed at any time. Benefits like that are an important part of Australia’s payments future.”
Zepto’s founders started their entrepreneurial journey together operating a large skydiving enterprise in Byron Bay.
Despite managing dozens of aircraft, buses, skydive drop-zones and hundreds of staff, the biggest business frustration they experienced was the tangle of legacy payments infrastructure, systems, tech and — worst of all — legacy thinking. The status quo was slow, expensive and unfit for modern businesses.
Their experience as merchants have given them a unique perspective on the daily payment challenges Australian businesses face. They have unpacked a real-life merchant experience into a payment solutions tech-infrastructure company on a mission to enable businesses like Red Energy, Spaceship and Fetch to freely devise their own innovative, account-to-account payment experiences.