Join us at Transfer 2025 to hear how industry leaders are building payments infrastructure for a real-time world.Register Today →
The Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) is a streamlined electronic payment method used to process low-value, bulk transactions in Australia and New Zealand. BECS governs how automatic payments, direct debits and credits, and one-off bank transfers are made in both countries.
BECS allows businesses to make arrangements with their financial institutions to debit and credit customers’ accounts regularly. Though typically reserved for smaller transactions (like recurring bills, payroll payments, and social security benefits), BECS can carry out payments up to $100 million.
How does BECS work?
BECS is overseen and managed by the Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet). Composed of 120 members, including leading financial institutions in Australia, AusPayNet is responsible for the rules surrounding:
- Processing direct credit and debits
- Administering Bank State Branch (BSB) numbers, the 6-digit code that represents your bank, state, and branch location
- Helping BECS members resolve mistaken payments
Within this regulatory body, BECS manages three kinds of payments:
Direct Debits
Direct debits are electronic withdrawals made by billing organizations, like insurance or utilities companies, which collect regular payments. For companies to begin accepting this automated payment method, they must first get approved and registered with a financial institution. Once they are registered, they are given a unique six-digit identification number. With BECS direct debits, it can take up to three business days to receive confirmation about a transaction after initiating a debit from the customer’s account.
Direct Credits
Direct credits refers to electronic deposits into an account. Often used by companies to make bulk recurring payments, including employee payroll or benefits premiums. Direct credit payments are processed and settled on the same day.
Credit Transfers
Mostly used by individual consumers to make bank-to-bank transfers, BECS credit transfers are less commonly used than direct debits or direct credits. Credit transfers are typically one-off payments made by individuals rather than companies.
BECS direct debits and credit payments are initiated from files containing batches of payment instructions. These instructions are compiled by paying or payee institutions, or their agents, and passed on to financial institutions with BECS membership. From there, payments are settled in batches on a same-day basis, five times a day.
Who uses BECS—and why?
BECS currently has 71 participants, primarily financial institutions like the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Available to both businesses and individuals in Australia and New Zealand, BECS is more commonly used by companies for recurring bulk payments (i.e., direct credits).
Why? The BECS system streamlines payments across Australia and New Zealand by processing bank-to-bank transfers without a card network. As a result, the fees associated with BECS payments are much lower for businesses. With payments being settled in batches on a same-day basis, five times a day, bulk payment operations are increasingly frictionless.
Try Modern Treasury
See how smooth payment operations can be.
Learn
Learn how money moves throughout different countries around the world.
A Canadian EFT (or Electronic Funds Transfer) is a bank-to-bank transfer in Canada, similar to ACH in the US.
Part of the FedACH system, FedGlobal ACH offers low-cost and efficient cross-border ACH payments.
A SWIFT code, also known as a SWIFT ID or Bank Identifier Code (BIC), is a unique 8-11 character code assigned to a bank for SWIFT wire transfers.
US companies moving money internationally will likely weigh the pros and cons of SWIFT vs. Global ACH when it comes to attributes like speed and cost.
Payment rails are the underlying systems and networks that facilitate the movement of funds between parties in financial transactions.
Pix is Brazil’s instant payment platform that launched on November 16, 2020. Created and managed by the Central Bank of Brazil, Pix enables fast payments and transfers at any time, year-round.
SWIFT payments or international wires are global payments made through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.
Global ACH can help companies move money from US-domiciled accounts across borders using local rails. Learn how and when to use this payment rail.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency under the jurisdiction of the US Treasury Department.
Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) is a system for electronic payments between two banks, where the transactions process and settle in real time rather than being batched.
TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) was launched by the Eurosystem in November 2018 as a market infrastructure service that settles instant payments.
An International ACH Transfer—also known as Global ACH—is an ACH payment made cross-border from a US-domiciled account.
Originally known as Bankers’ Automated Clearing System (BACS), BACS Payment Schemes Limited clears and settles direct debit, BACS direct credit, and current account switch service in the United Kingdom.
The Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) is a streamlined electronic payment method used to process low-value, bulk transactions in Australia and New Zealand.
The Faster Payments Service (FPS) is a banking service in the United Kingdom. The FPS was instituted in order to reduce payment times between accounts held by different customers.
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a system of payment schemas that standardizes cashless transactions in euros.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time payments system for mobile applications designed and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India.