IMO, the solution for both businesses and consumers to avoid card fees while staying digital is to use PayID. However, I know only a handful of shops and stalls that accept PayID. I wonder why, since most people use it to transfer money.
Why Is PayID So Underused in Shops?
doutorrr on 01/10/2026 - 13:47
Last edited 01/10/2026 - 14:03 by 1 other user
Last edited 01/10/2026 - 14:03 by 1 other user
Comments
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@interlocal: … Use a separate email address only for banking.
Hard for it to get leaked then.
It's not rocket surgery.
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@interlocal: That depends on how the bank implemented it, but yeah most banks won't let you set up emails that you're not already using at the bank. It's not really needed because you can use Osko anyway.
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0 thoughts went into this post
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Yes, but a lot of brain cells were lost in the making.
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How can something be lost if they never had it in the first place?
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In countries like China and India, all the shops/ hawkers/ restaurants (or literally anyone can) have just a QR code which people scan using apps and pay in seconds. All the shoppers have to do is enter the amount (which is sometimes pre-populated too, makes it even faster and easier) and press ok. Why don't we have that technology? Entering PayID manually is a much slower option and prone to typing mistakes causing further delays.
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Why don't we have that technology
Payment terminals and NFC based technologies are already deeply integrated in the retail market, there's no immediate benefits to introduce QR code.
QR code brings additional dependencies: phone with camera, app, data. Even though vast majority of the population have them, but 100% of card users can choose physical cards that can be used independently without a phone (until recently certain digital accounts no longer include physical cards).
QR code gained traction in developing countries because they were behind in consumers credits, there was no concept of credit cards, and therefore no established payment networks (nor reliable electricity/communication to run the technologies in certain areas). So for them it was easy to go from cash to mobile payments (QR code), the technology didn't have to compete with established payment networks.
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You have no idea what you are talking about, you honestly dont
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If you have an idea, please feel free to share.
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Take Alipay and WeChat for example, they started as closed loop payment systems, that means you need to deposit funds into Alipay or WeChat accounts to use it, they keep your money, they generate the QR codes, they maintain the ledgers. Though you are free to transfer funds in and out, you spend your own money, no credit involved. It's cheap because transactions don't go through the banks.
If you were to do similar things in Australia, established platforms like PayPal, Square, or Stripe can potentially facility the QR code function, but who wants to deposit money into those platforms just to pay for groceries? A hybrid solution might work, relying on backend integration with EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, etc. But why would you? When you can just use EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard directly, by simply tapping.
There isn't a single Western market with a standout QR code payment success story, simply because Visa, Mastercard and other established card networks were already deeply entrenched. Their ubiquity meant QR codes never had the same opportunity to take off the way they did in Asia.
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this
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People here loves CREDIT and loves paying interest when they run out of actual money. They like to spend tomorrow money and when they run out they go to Centerlink for more options. A lot choose to live like a King when their wage is middle. Credit enables this and not PAYID.
QR codes in other countries need actual money in ewallets which is what smash avocado people here lack.
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ill be waiting for the new forum post of "i started taking payID and money hasnt come into my account"- 1
some ressy i go to have payid, ive been using it 10/10
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We are so behind our Asian counterparts. In China for example, you can use AliPay and WeChat even in remote villages.
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We are kinda, payto is already integrated with many banks. So merchants could push notifications to our devices to just accept. Woolworths could easily do that using say your rewards card.
QR codes are only a matter of the bank supporting them.
We really should have alternatives to cards, maybe revolut, wise or one of the smaller players will support it.
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Brazil has PIX, which is awesome too.
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You can use a debit card anywhere in Australia… Or around the world…
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You're missing the point dude. They've essentially replaced cash with a QR code with no requirement for 3rd party hardware other than your phone.
And it handles everything, from food, taxi's, vending machines, bike hire… everything. You can split bills or even pay each other.
We're living in the dark ages.
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There's nothing fancy about those qr code. It's a lot more cumbersome than tap your phone or card. You still have to have an app installed and all that qr code does is loading the app up with transfer screen and in most cases you still have to punch in the amount, the description, hit next, then have to enter the otp to confirm the payment, no difference to payid. So how many step do you have to take to pay compared to tap? If vendor want to pay up and upgrade their terminal it might save you a step or two but no way as simple as tap.
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@lgacb08: QR payment is hardware less so you can update or change whenever you want. You can print the QR code on your door for people to pay. You can have multiple QR photos. For entering the amount. It's the same to tap method where the seller does the job.
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@bcYield: It's not when seller not paying for the hardware, you'll have to do all the leg work, on top of having to install the relevant app. Why should buyer have to pay and do all the step when they just want the goods or services and be done with it.
and that's not even discussing the security issue your printed qr code being tampered with.- 1
@lgacb08: For a small business or a food stall, QR payment works without the need of power supply or internet. You can watch how QR code payment has become so popular in China where school kids can pay for a steet food quickly while the seller just needs to focus on cooking. For our current tap payment, we have to wait for someone to set up the payment then prepare the meal.
Why buyers should do this? It's the same principle why buyers self service.
They have WeChat pay that has become part of the every life. Similarly our bank/EFTPOS can introduce similar measure for security.
Tax and surcharges are the main factors hold small transactions from happening.
Another reason is Apple and big tech giants initially had developed NFC tap technology before QR code came to place. It's the technology attached to our phones today. They made the decision.
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@bcYield: QR only grow there because those countries didn't have something much easier like tap and pay, your example conveniently forgetting the fact that seller has to check if they got the money yet (by how, open the phone app of course). And don't tell me a phone ping is sufficient, what if someone decide to pay you 50c instead of $5? If they're selling a service then they better do the whole package, if I have to contribute to the process then I demand my cut.
Apple or other has nothing to do with the current set up we have, Paywave already exists nearly 10 years before they came up with that idea.- 0
seller has to check if they got the money yet
I mean you basically have no idea of how it works. Do your homework first.
what if someone decide to pay you 50c instead of $5?
Likewise, what if the seller set the pos machine higher? What if the customer walks out without paying?
If they're selling a service then they better do the whole package,
Sure you are the one who pay for that service. We are not comparing a stree food to a 5-star hotel, right.
if I have to contribute to the process then I demand my cut.
That's the idea, silimlar to fast food Kiosk and more.
Apple or other has nothing to do with the current set up
Apple started Apple Pay in 2014, making it the primary phone payment. We are talking about the future of cashless and cardless here.
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cuz it's the easiest system to scam
payid can be reversed w/o you being asked
do a search- 1
I don't know, why don't you ask the Banks or the business owners? It seems everyone just piss lazy to do it and let the banks slug the fees.
https://www.anz.com.au/support/business/internet-banking/pay…
https://www.commbank.com.au/business/online-banking/payid.ht…
https://www.nab.com.au/business/online-banking/payid
https://www.westpac.com.au/business-banking/online-banking/p…
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Because we manage cashflow by sweating credit terms
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i hate PayID, not really sure why, partly because i have to sign up with a mobile or email address and i hate handing that info over in public spaces, even ask hotels why they need my email address for everytime. the other thing is it holds money in accounts and take a while to clear, i also hate ebay now because they hold money til buyer says they recieved the item.
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I use addy.io. works great for creating custom emails that you can hand out, you can also make a custom subdomain like [whateveryouwant]@[yourcustomname].anonaddy.com and you can have addy automatically create any email address it receives. then you don't need to create emails, you just use your custom email subdomain and it will automatically forward them to your nominated address. i spin up a custom email for every business that asks it, and i can just pause the forwarding of emails after being used. And because every business gets a custom email, I'll know if it gets compromised. The only downside, is some bigger companies don't allow email anonymizing services, but that can be resolved by using a dedicated outlook or gmail or yahoo email.
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The PYNG app connects with both parties' PayID accounts to streamline fund transfers via QR code scanning. Users don't need to create a new PayID record for every transaction, offering a seamless "scan-and-go" experience. Both parties receive instant notifications, and the service features zero bank fees.
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Thanks. I'd never heard of it. I have now.
I was looking for something for a store I use regularly run by someone who absolutely hates having to pay the merchant fees for card transactions, and tries as hard as he can to persuade everyone to pay cash, which is a nuisance to have when you don't use it anywhere else.
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Haha a community group tried this for a Saturday Bunnings sausage sizzle near me. Absolute disaster of delays.
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Did they use the Bunnings system?
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I know that China use QR code (via WeChat etc), but I was so surprised that Indonesia (Jakarta) has QR code payment too! I forgot my wallet when I travelled to Indonesia in July and survived by using GoPay and its QRIS (QR code). ApplePay is also now more widely available.
Australia has just gone backwards to stone age .. maybe time to go back to cash payment.- 0
It's called the "leapfrog" effect, those countries were so behind in card payment networks, they "advantageously" skipped the credit card era and jumped straight into app payments based on QR codes.
Meanwhile established payment networks have deep roots in developed countries' day-to-day, making it difficult for new technologies to compete as things are working just fine. NFC based payment is also easier to use, no need to unlock the phone to open an app then aim the camera, finally use PIN or biometric to authorise.
QR code doesn't need payment terminals, so they are cheap to setup, but it requires "super apps" to work effective. China has the duopoly Alipay and WeChat, Indonesia has QRIS. Unless RBA can mandate certain standards to unify QR codes from all payment platforms, it's not practical to install multiple apps to scan different QRs at checkout.
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it's not practical to install multiple apps to scan different QRs at checkout
Agree.
That'll be $420.69. Have you got a rewards / flybuys / myer one / loyalty card?
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PayID use at my local shop and they use it to avoid tax.
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Went through this recently for a startup.
Banks own payment + so they have an incentive to cripple it in my opinion.
They don’t support QR codes and each bank has to do it.
The banks can freeze payments so it cannot be used like a credit card even for small amounts.
Payto is a pain UX wise also.
They don’t want a easy to use payment rail.
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Because PayID is just an alias of BSB + account number, a one directional transfer without transactional controls.
With debit/credit cards, because they go through payment networks, merchants can pre-auth and reserve transactions.
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Banks have no incentive to implement PayID or PayTo system at the expense of credit card gateways which net them 100s of millions in merchant and other fee if not billions.
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So what happens if you have $600 in dinner bill and PAyID and you get 24hr hold because it’s a new person you are making payment to.
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Dine and dash?
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The diner needs to find another way to make payment if they can't come to some kind of agreement for delayed payment with the provider.
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i notice them more at small shops, where the owner gets the full payment themself
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I saw a market today requesting cash or PayID, card as a last resort. I have also seen plant/fruit markets offer PayID instead of accepting card payments. I agree that it should become more common.
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using google lens you can copy numbers/emails/abns for payid, if they print them out at there shops. QR codes would make this system even easier.
Those stores could support PayTo also then they could just push a payment request to your bank app (provided it's supported lol.
Memberships i feel would work really well for coffee shops, supermarkets etc then when you finish shopping or eating they just send it for you to press okay, no need to tap or do anything else.
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Asians know how to do it. QR codes which instantly sends from their bank accounts. Come on Australia, can't you do any tech right? This is the most simple of ideas.
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why do I need to enter the amount and hit a couple of button to pay someone when the system already set up and all you need to do is tap, doesn't matter if it is a phone or a card. You're re-inventing the wheel.
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the backend already supports it, scanning just needs to be implemented. maybe it will take the smaller players like revolut or a neo like up or ubank to add support.
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Asians also saves money. QR codes needs actual money for spending.
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Why Is PayID So Underused in Shops?
Because it’s not meant for that purpose.
IMO, the solution for both businesses and consumers to avoid card fees while staying digital is to use PayID.
NO. This is very wrong
I know only a handful of shops and stalls that accept PayID. I wonder why, since most people use it to transfer money
Transfer of money is not the same thing is as paying for goods and services at a pos such as coffee shops or groceries or some other wet market.
and yes, payid can be setup using business id as well, but this is not meant for pos purposes.Not only that it’s cumbersome to do it at pos, it also reveals your personal details to the shop at each transaction in case you hadn’t thought of it.
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Then introduce a new POS PayID that can hide personal transactions. It's all about middleman surcharges. When the surcharges are removed, all these new ideas/options can come to life. The seller might increase the cost per item to cover the surcharges. Without the middleman surcharges, they can keep the cost lower too.
I think POS can make transactions for them eailser. PayID/banks can too if they want.
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Eftpos / paywave were the technologies meant for this and for a great reason… merchants and banks should fight for lesser card fees from visa/ mastercard / amex card providers than going with other poor solutions.
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It'd even better to have PayID or QR payment avaiable for a small business as they can happen on a signle phone without the need of extra hardware and required power supply and internet to work.
Westpac business account has the ability to phone-to-phone tap and pay if I am correct.
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@bcYield: Westpac might be similar to samsung transfer which uses visa/mastercard.
Beamit used Eftos network.Online the fees are even higher to take cards, we have Payto already but people are not using it or don't know what it is.
I would love for QR payments to come here, there should be alternatives. Alipay is already supported in POS terminals world wide.
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Payto
This is mainly got on going arrangements such as replacement for direct debit. Its too much pia for in the spot payments
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This is mainly got on going arrangements such as replacement for direct debit. Its too much pia for in the spot payments
That is correct. It was intended as a modern replacement for direct debits and BPAY.
However, the current wave of QR code payment platforms trying to build a QR code payment system in Australia are using PayTo under the hood. They're essentially building a middleman wallet using QR codes on top of a PayTo agreement.
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A few small shops around my suburb have stopped taking credit card and switched to payid
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Thing is you cannot choose any email, you can use only email you use for that bank app. So there is another issue - any scammer with database of leaked email addresses can check them with payid, and get last name (and confirmation that this email is linked to one of AU bank apps).