Background
Organisations that process transactions for their business clients through an electronic payment system need to report these transactions to us in a Business transactions through payment systems (BTTPS) report.
Some transactions don't need to be reported because they're either:
- reported by another entity
- specifically exempt.
Acquirers should exclude transactions through the JCB, American Express and Diners card schemes from their report as we collect data directly from these schemes.
Where an acquirer or authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) processes transactions on behalf of themselves, these transactions do not need to be reported. For example, if an acquirer has a BPAY biller code used exclusively by their clients to pay their credit card product, they won't have a reporting obligation for this biller code.
Payments exempt under legislative instrument
Some payments are exempt from being reported under a legislative instrument. However, you may report these payments if not reporting them would impose an increased administrative burden on you.
Third party processor payments
If you are an acquirer, you should not report transactions that are processed by a third-party processor. A legislative instrument exists to exempt reporting transactions initiated by another entity and where the other entity is required to report. This will prevent duplicate reporting and ensure that the reporting obligation is held by the entity that has full visibility of the transactional data and up-to-date identity data of the business.
Certain classes of transactions
Certain classes of transactions are exempt from being reported. These are payments made to a:
- carriage service provider
- utility for the provision of electricity, water, sewerage or gas
- government related entity
- general insurer and received in the course of the insurer’s insurance business
- life insurer and received in the course of the insurer’s life insurance business
- private health insurer and received in the course of the insurer’s health insurance business
- superannuation fund, approved deposit fund, or pooled superannuation trust or RSA provider.
You should not report payments processed through the high value clearing system.
Direct entry and new payments platform
Some transactions do not need to be reported. Under Legislative Instrument F2022L1557 the following exemptions apply:
- direct entry direct credit transactions processed by the Bulk Electronic Clearing System
- payments processed by the new payments platform except where that payment is all the following
- received by a payee under a PayTo Agreement;
- a successful payment initiation
- processed after 1 July 2022.
Payments made to a trust account
You should report all payments to a trustee where you reasonably believe the:
- payments are for the purposes of a business
- business is being carried on by the trustee.
Trust accounts of real estate agents and solicitors
Many real estates and solicitors receive payments on behalf of their clients through their trust account. For example, rent to the real estate trust account, or proceeds of the sale of a property to the trust account of a solicitor.
If it is reasonable to believe payments received by the trustee on behalf of their client are not payments for the purpose of a business carried on by the trustee, an administrator of a payment system does not need to report these payments.
International wire transfers
You must not include payments made via an international wire transfer as these are not payments within the scope of the legislation.
Payments made to charities
Your payments processed for a charity:
- don't need to be reported if they are donations made to a charity
- do need to be reported if they are processed for a charity that is operating a business.
Note: If a charity collects online donations that are not payments for goods and services, the payments don't need to be reported. If you provide a payment facility for a charity to use in a store selling second-hand goods and services, you need to report these.
The transactions made by an electronic payment system you don't report for business clients.