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Category: Press Releases

Cuscal enabling PayTo for financial institutions, payments service providers, fintechs and enterprise

Posted on by Marketing Team

Sydney, 30 June 2022

Following the announcement that NPP Australia has opened access to PayTo for the first payments service providers, Cuscal announced today it is enabling 45 financial institutions and payment services providers with access to PayTo as rollout commences over the coming months.

Cuscal was one of the founding financial institutions that established the New Payments Platform (NPP), Australia’s real-time payment system, and enabled over 60% of the financial institutions that were live on Day 1.

Since that time, Cuscal has strengthened its position as the market leader in NPP services, building a strong foundation of clients, industry relationships, expertise and scale over the last five years.

Cuscal currently:

  • Provides access to the NPP for over half of all financial institutions and payment service providers on the platform that offer real time payments to their customers
  • Processes 18% of payments made and 19% of payments received on the NPP

Cuscal is working closely with a large group of banks, payments service providers and software providers to support the ramp up of PayTo over the next few months. Cuscal’s PayTo development and implementation project has included many financial institutions and PSPs who wish to drive payment innovation and improved customer experiences using PayTo.

Bianca Bates, Chief Client Officer and Deputy CEO, Cuscal Limited, said:

Cuscal is able to support a wide range of capabilities. We are about enabling competition. We provide services that let our clients innovate and develop their businesses. It has been a rewarding process to work with our financial institution and payment service provider clients to enable them to be the early adopters for PayTo.

The first group of financial institutions and payment service providers integrating with PayTo through Cuscal will go-live between July and September, followed by fast followers between October and December. The gradual ramp up of PayTo is expected to be completed in 2023 with full industry adoption.

Cuscal’s NPP infrastructure, scalable solution design and modular API services have made it possible for both existing and new clients who are focused on investing in innovation for their customers, to extend their NPP services to access PayTo, ensuring they are at the forefront of future payments innovation across subscription and bill payments, ecommerce and in app transactions, embedded finance and account funding, and the bulk disbursement of funds.

Cuscal has also partnered with software providers to ensure that Cuscal’s NPP Payments and PayTo services are integrated seamlessly into all clients’ digital channels to deliver an optimum customer experience.

Cuscal’s expertise and scale has also attracted clients who are nimble, innovative and focused to take advantage of one seamless onboarding to enable them to be first to market with Cuscal’s NPP Payments and PayTo services.

James Foster, Chief Executive Officer, Ezypay, commented:

We chose to partner with Cuscal as we knew they could deliver on our requirements to be live with PayTo on Day 1. We are a leading subscription payments fintech and it’s comforting to know that Cuscal’s vision for the future of payments in Australia is strongly aligned with ours.

More information about Cuscal’s PayTo initiation services.

Payment Services Providers – initiating PayTo payments for businesses

  1. Azupay
  2. Ezypay
  3. Global Payments (Eway, Ezidebit)
  4. GoCardless
  5. Hay Limited
  6. Merchant Warrior
  7. Monoova
  8. Paypa Plane
  9. Zai (formerly Assembly Payments)

Payer Financial Institutions – making PayTo payments for customers

  1. Australian Mutual Bank
  2. Australian Unity Bank
  3. Bank Australia
  4. Bank of Queensland (BOQ and Virgin Money)
  5. Bank WAW
  6. bcu
  7. Bendigo Bank
  8. Beyond Bank
  9. Central Murray Credit Union
  10. Community First Credit Union
  11. Credit Union SA
  12. Defence Bank
  13. First Option Bank
  14. Geelong Bank
  15. Goulburn Murray Credit Union
  16. Hay Limited
  17. Horizon Bank
  18. Illawarra Credit Union
  19. Laboratories Credit Union
  20. Great Southern Bank
  21. MyState Bank
  22. Northern Inland Credit Union
  23. Orange Credit Union
  24. P&N Bank
  25. People’s Choice
  26. Police Credit Union
  27. Queensland Country Bank
  28. RACQ Bank
  29. Regional Australia Bank
  30. South West Slopes Credit Union
  31. Teachers Mutual Bank Limited (Teachers Mutual Bank, Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Hiver and UniBank)
  32. The Broken Hill Community Credit Union
  33. The Mac
  34. ubank (formerly 86400)
  35. Unity Bank Limited (Unity Bank and Reliance Bank)
  36. Warwick Credit Union

Media contact

Simone Perryman, SShields@cuscal.com.au

Queensland Country Bank partners with Cuscal

Posted on by Rachael Shupe

Queensland Country Bank & Cuscal logos

Sydney, 29 October 2021

We are pleased to announce that Queensland Country Bank has selected Cuscal as their single payment’s services provider.

Queensland Country Bank needed to find a partner who could help them aggregate all their payment service requirements, including Cards, Switching and Payments.

Their key objectives were to simplify their contractual arrangements, streamline operational processing and deliver products and services in a consistent manner across their entire customer base.

With an eye on the future, it was also important to Queensland Country Bank to find a partner who could understand their strategy, and who could demonstrate a clearly articulated roadmap to support it.

Cuscal prides itself on our speed to market and proven track record in enabling first to market solutions (e.g The Pays and NPP). We are also deeply committed to continuing investment in innovation to enable clients in being early adopters of new capabilities such as PayTo services. We are excited to be partnering with Queensland Country Bank to support them in bringing these services to their customers and look forward to a successful partnership – Bianca Bates

 

The teams from Cuscal and Queensland Country Bank have already started working closely together on the transition plan, with a view to have this work completed in 2022.

We are looking forward to a successful partnership with the team at Queensland Country Bank.
END

Cuscal announces membership of FDATA Australasia

Posted on by Marketing Team

Cuscal becomes a member of FDATA

Sydney, 18 March 2021 – Cuscal announced today that it will become the latest member of the Australasia chapter of the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA). Membership of FDATA will provide Cuscal with valuable advisory, regulatory and industry engagement opportunities through FDATA’s deep knowledge of Open Finance, network of global experts and position on working groups, advisory panels and task forces.

As a Consumer Data Right (CDR) intermediary, Cuscal is committed to supporting data holders, consumers and data recipients to connect safely and securely to unlock the value of data. Cuscal’s Collaborative Data Exchange will manage the technicalities of the CDR for data holders and data recipients, leaving enterprise to focus on one of the most powerful opportunities in Australian commerce. Forward intelligence from FDATA on key policy matters, changes and trends from Australia and across the globe will form part of the Collaborative Data Exchange’s program of continuous development, helping clients to respond to changes in the CDR, including the emergence of new regulation, expansion of the CDR to new designated industries, and updates to data-standards.

Commenting on Cuscal’s membership of the regional chapter, Richard Prior, CEO of FDATA, said:

FDATA is delighted to welcome Cuscal to our worldwide community of members. As Open Finance proliferates across the globe, FDATA shares Cuscal’s goal of enabling the future, supporting the delivery of Open Finance for Australia, and the enormous potential and ambition enshrined in the CDR.

Kieran McKenna, Chief Risk Officer at Cuscal, commented:

We’re delighted to be joining FDATA Australasia at this critical moment during the implementation of Open Banking in Australia. Through our membership we’re looking forward to representing the interest of our clients and engaging with FDATA’s community of members, the government, regulators, policy makers and other stakeholders to help guide the formulation of policies relating to Open Banking and Open Finance in Australia.

About FDATA
The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) is a not-for-profit representing fintechs operating in Open Banking and Open Finance. FDATA work with government, policy makers, and regulators to implement a fair and ethical competitive landscape that promotes competition, innovation, and better consumer outcomes.

About Cuscal
For more than 50 years Cuscal has championed competition in banking and payments in Australia, leveraging our scale, banking knowledge, technical expertise and regulatory experience to deliver reliable and secure solutions that supports the flow of transactional data between customers and enterprises, ensuring fair access to the Australian payments and banking ecosystem.

Media contact
Simone Shields, sshields@cuscal.com.au

Product reference data sharing obligations commence for ADIs

Posted on by Rachael Shupe

Looking up at buildings in city at as sun is setting

Sydney, 1 October 2020 – Mandatory product reference data sharing obligations commenced today for non-major authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), covering non-major banks, building societies and credit unions, and the non-primary brands of the major banks.

In compliance with the relevant laws, Rules and Data Standards for the Consumer Data Right (CDR), Cuscal has partnered with a number of clients, including Australian Unity Bank Limited, Bank Australia Limited and Bank of Sydney Ltd, to develop solutions that support compliance with product reference data obligations.

Commenting on clients achieving compliance with the first stage of CDR obligations, Cuscal CCO Bianca Bates said:

Despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been able to work closely with our clients to successfully implement solutions supporting the disclosure of product reference data to the market. In some cases services have been implemented within as little as three weeks, ensuring clients have been able to comply with the timelines set by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

We are proud that Australian Unity, Bank Australia and Bank of Sydney chose to partner with Cuscal to deliver this first Open Banking milestone and look forward to supporting them, and our other clients, unlock data to capture new opportunities for growth created by the CDR.

About Cuscal’s Open Banking services
Cuscal’s product reference data APIs form the foundations of a larger economy-wide Collaborative Data Exchange platform that Cuscal is developing in partnership with clients. The Collaborative Data Exchange will provide clients with a modular and flexible service that takes care of CDR compliance obligations and also unlocks greater data enablement opportunities.

Cuscal’s vision is to offer clients a simplified, modular and scalable technology platform that is extensible and interoperable across industries and partners, providing clients the freedom to:

  • implement their organisational data strategies and ambitions;
  • unlock legacy data stores to ensure greater flexibility regarding the use of existing data;
  • combine existing data with external sources, including cross-industry information, to derive valuable customer insights that support the delivery of personalised customer experiences;
  • build on platform functionality and apply APIs to novel new use cases with minimal capital investment and business disruption; and
  • innovate and partner with third parties of their choice to offer new data enabled experiences to customers.

Media contact
Jo Savill, jsavill@cuscal.com.au

Monoova becomes the latest non-bank to connect to the NPP

Posted on by Marketing Team

Business person at computer

Sydney, 2 October 2019: End-to-end payments provider Monoova, and Australia’s leading independent provider of payment services for banks and payment platforms Cuscal, today announced the rollout of NPP payment capabilities to Monoova’s Automated Payment Service.

As the latest member of the very small group of non-bank Identified Institution to be enabled on the NPP, Monoova will now be able to add real-time account payables and receivables functionality to its enterprise-level payments solution.

Commenting on the roll-out, Head of Monoova, Christian Westerlind Wigstrom, said that by fully automating how funds are received and managed, business can focus more time on what they are there to do: servicing their customers.

The NPP holds the key to great customer experiences by making payments happen successfully and invisibly. No longer will businesses have to mobilise armies of bookkeepers and wads of spreadsheets to track incoming and outgoing payments. Most importantly, there is no need for businesses to hold off growth because they can’t manage the flow of funds.

We are very pleased to be working with Cuscal to help deliver ‘invisible payments’ to our clients, and our clients’ customers, and feel we have a strong alignment of values when it comes to doing the right thing by customers.

 

Nathan Churchward, Head of Product at Cuscal commented,

As an NPP Participant we’re focused on enabling organisations as Identified Institutions and providing wholesale access to the NPP through our REST APIs.

As an Identified Institution, Monoova is extending the benefits of receiving and managing real-time payments to other businesses through a single API integration with their Automated Payment Service. This is proof that the open access design of the NPP is working to facilitate fair access to the platform, driving competition and innovation.

 

Through Monoova, a single API integration provides scaling businesses with the ability to exchange payment information and instructions, issuing unique account identifiers and PayIDs to fully automate how funds are received and managed in real-time. Additional real-time payments functionality, including payment initiation, will be progressively introduced.

The move will make reconciliation, exception handling and reporting for NPP payments available in a single integration, alongside other payment channels such as Direct Entry and BPAY.

A number of Monoova’s business clients have commenced end-to-end testing of real-time payment capabilities within Monoova’s development sandbox, with access to the live environment expected to be progressively granted over the next month.

At Monoova, we’re all about freeing businesses to scale. We continue to enhance and grow our offering to make it easy, seamless and stress-free for businesses to pay and be paid,

 

Mr. Westerlind Wigstrom said.

About Monoova
Monoova supports scaling businesses with large, and often complex, ongoing transaction flows to fully automate how they receive, manage and pay their funds through one simple API integration. Its proprietary platform allows businesses to access a variety of payments functions, comprehensive reconciliation and reporting options and entirely customised real-time data.

Monoova (formerly known as Moneytech Payments) was founded in 2017 and is a fully owned subsidiary of Moneytech Group. Since inception, Monoova has processed over 1 billion dollars through its proprietary payments software.

www.monoova.com      www.linkedin.com/company/monoova

Media contact details

Monoova media contacts: Susie Bell 0420 49 852 , susie@honner.com.au, Kirsty Timsans 0403 782 752 kirsty@honner.com.au

Cuscal media contact: Emma Hawke, EHawke@cuscal.com.au

Armaguard finalises Cuscal rediATM Scheme acquisition

Posted on by Rachael Shupe

Melbourne, 14 August 2019 –  The Armaguard Group announced today the purchase completion of Cuscal’s physical ATM assets and has now taken over the management and operation of the rediATM Scheme together with all customer-owned servicing contracts.

This purchase allows Armaguard to facilitate the continued provision of cash across the community.

Gary Allen, CEO, Armaguard Group, is pleased to confirm the sale: “Our investment in this well-established network is part of our strategy to support ongoing essential services of cash distribution to the community.”

“This acquisition is a natural extension of our current cash supply chain business. Our core business is currency management, which includes supporting financial institutions with the circulation of cash into the community. We aim to ensure that everyone has access to their cash where and when they need it, and part of this is through the provision of ATMs in communities across Australia.”

Commenting on the completion of the sale, Craig Kennedy, MD, Cuscal stated: “The sale provides continuity and sustainability of ATM Services for our clients and their customers, while allowing us to focus on our core strategic areas of mobile, real-time and data. We are proud of what we have achieved in the last 10 years with the rediATM Scheme and look forward to supporting Armaguard’s future plans with our driving, switching and settlement services.”

Gary Allen sums up: “We are working closely with Cuscal and will continue to enjoy a long and positive relationship together. We now have everything in place to ensure a seamless business transition for rediATM Scheme members and their customers.”

Media Contacts
Media contact details Armaguard Group: Cathy Canham, cathy_canham@linfox.com
Media contact details Cuscal: Simone Shields, sshields@cuscal.com.au

Armaguard Group acquires Cuscal rediATM Scheme

Posted on by Uberbrand

Person pushing ATM button

Sydney, 26 February 2019: Armaguard Group announced today the signing of an agreement to purchase Cuscal’s physical ATM assets and to take over the management and operation of the rediATM Scheme.

The rediATM network provides direct charge fee-free transactions for the cardholders of rediATM Scheme members, with an extensive network of ATMs across hundreds of unique locations, including regional centres Australia-wide.

The purchase aligns the core competencies and future plans of both the Armaguard Group and Cuscal.

The Armaguard Group has decades of expertise in ATMs, and currently provides services to the majority of existing ATMs in Australia. This purchase allows Armaguard to provide additional end-to-end currency and technology management solutions, and facilitates the continued provision of cash across the community. Cuscal is a payments business and its future strategy is centred on mobile, real-time and data initiatives. This sale allows Cuscal to focus on its future plans while ensuring its clients and customers continue to receive convenient, secure, 24/7 access to their money.

Gary Allen, CEO, Armaguard Group, is delighted about the purchase:

Our core business is currency management, which includes supporting financial institutions with the circulation of cash into the community. We aim to ensure that everyone has access to their cash when they need it, and part of this is the provision of ATMs, an essential service to communities across Australia.

We look forward to investing in this well-established network to support ongoing services to the community.

Commenting on the sale, Craig Kennedy, MD, Cuscal said:

We are proud of our history in ATMs. We worked with one of our clients to offer the first ever modern ATM back in 1977, and the rediATM Scheme has given millions of people secure, easy, direct-charge free access to their cash for nearly 10 years.

However the ATM industry has evolved, and our business has changed. We strongly believe that this sale is the best way for our clients and their customers to continue to get secure, convenient access to their cash. We will continue to drive, switch and settle for ATMs, while spending more time on our core strategic areas of mobile, real-time and data – enabling our clients’ customers to make payments wherever they are, with whatever device they choose.

Gary Allen sums up:

While the deal is subject to regulatory and other approvals, we expect it to be completed in the coming months. This acquisition is the natural extension of our current technology driven business, and we look forward to a seamless transition for rediATM Scheme members and their customers.

—ends—

Media contact details: Eva Donaldson, 0429 449 963, eva_donaldson@linfox.com

Media contact details: Jake Waddell, 0417 312 902, jwaddell@cuscal.com.au

NPP launches with 60+ finance brands, 40 via Cuscal

Posted on by Uberbrand

The New Payments Platform (NPP) was made publicly available today with customers of more than 60 banks, credit unions and building societies now able to receive real-time payments. 40 of these are connecting via Cuscal, greater than 50% of the total, and we will be connecting more later this year.

Financial institutions will roll out NPP services in their own time. Most of our clients have full functionality now (including registering a PayID and making and receiving payments via Osko) others will roll things out more slowly, in the coming days, weeks and months. New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA) estimates that 4 out of 5 Australian bank accounts will be able to accept NPP payments within a few weeks of launch. All participating financial institutions are listed on the NPPA website.

Commenting on the launch of the NPP, Cuscal MD Craig Kennedy, said:
“Today really is a landmark day for banking and payments in Australia; the launch of a totally new infrastructure for payments happens very rarely. We’re delighted that we’ve been able to play a key role in the build and launch of the New Payments Platform and that so many of our clients can share this great day with us.

Australians have been rightly annoyed that it took so long for money to move between accounts at different institutions. Now, for customers at forward-thinking financial institutions that’s a thing of the past. It just goes to show that no matter how large or small your financial institution is, it can give you the latest and greatest payment innovations just as quickly as the biggest banks in Australia.”

The NPP is a brand new infrastructure for payments which has been collaboratively developed by 13 financial institutions, including Cuscal, to make payments faster, simpler and smarter for all Australians. These financial institutions mutually own New Payments Platform Australia Ltd (NPPA) which is responsible for building and operating the NPP. Cuscal MD Craig Kennedy sits on the board of NPPA.

The finance brands now connected to the NPP via Cuscal are:
List of financial institutions Cuscal is connecting to the New Payments Platfrom from launch

Media contact
Jake Waddell jwaddell@cuscal.com.au 0417 312 902

Apple Pay coming to eftpos for Cuscal sponsored FIs

Posted on by Uberbrand

apple pay is now available for eftpos cardholders

Sydney, 6 February 2018: eftpos, Australia’s own debit payments network, today announced eftpos-only cardholders from six Cuscal sponsored financial institutions can now use Apple Pay, which is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay that’s fast and convenient.

eftpos Acting CEO, Mr Paul Jennings, said that leading independent payments company Cuscal has worked with eftpos to enable six financial institutions to launch eftpos for Apple Pay today, offering their eftpos cardholders the choice of using Apple Pay with eftpos.

The Cuscal sponsored financial institutions include CUA, FCCS, Nexus Mutual, People’s Choice Credit Union, SCU More Generous Banking, and Woolworths Employees’ Credit Union.

Mr Jennings said Apple Pay with eftpos will provide eligible eftpos cardholders with the ability to make eftpos purchases on their iPhone or Apple Watch using their own money, processed in real time.

Security and privacy is at the core of Apple Pay. When you use an eftpos card from participating financial institutions with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is authorised with a one-time unique dynamic security code.

“Today marks another significant milestone for eftpos as we enable more consumers with an iPhone or Apple Watch to choose eftpos to make a transaction from their CHQ or SAV account,” Mr Jennings said. “As Australia’s most used debit card network, we are thrilled to provide consumers from these participating financial institutions with more payment choice, with added benefits of enhanced security and convenience.”

In stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and later, and Apple Watch. To set up Apple Pay, cardholders from participating banks and credit unions simply need to open the Apple Wallet app in iOS 11 and follow the prompts.

Cuscal’s General Manager Product and Service, Robert Bell said: “Tens of thousands of eftpos cardholders can now pay with their iPhones, providing greater choice for our clients’ customers. We provide leading digital payment solutions to our clients, helping them to compete on a more level playing field with the big banks.”

For more information on Apple Pay, visit: http://www.apple.com/au/apple-pay/

This press release was originally published by eftpos.

About eftpos
eftpos is the most widely used debit card system in Australia, accounting about 2 billion CHQ and SAV transactions in 2017 worth more than $130 billion. For more information on eftpos, please visit: www.eftposaustralia.com.au

About Cuscal
Cuscal is Australia’s leading independent provider of payment solutions including card and acquiring products, mobile payments, NPP, fraud prevention, EFT switching and direct entry. We process 14% of Australia’s EFT transactions, have over 7.5 million cards under management and switch and acquire for around 35% of Australia’s ATMs. W: www.cuscal.com/ L: www.linkedin.com/company/cuscal

Media inquiries:

Warwick Ponder, eftpos
0408 410 593
WPonder@eftposaustralia.com.au

Jo Savill, Cuscal
0447555018
jsavill@cuscal.com.au

Teachers Mutual Bank rolls out Cuscal mobile app

Posted on by Uberbrand

person using TMB mobile banking app, developed by Cuscal

Sydney, 7 November 2017 – Over 100,000 Teachers Mutual Bank members will be upgrading to a brand new digital platform, provided by Cuscal.

With a focus on member needs, the new Teachers Mutual Bank app will ensure members have convenient and easy access to a host of service features including the capacity to: block/report a lost/stolen card and change card PINs and access to increased security features.

“The new Teachers Mutual Bank mobile app empowers our members, giving them access to a wide range of features now; and provides us with the infrastructure to create innovation in the future,” stated Teachers Mutual Bank Limited’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer (Acting), Gerard Smith.

“We have already been recognised as a leader in the financial services industry for customer service^. This new app builds on that reputation, giving our members access to banking functions more commonly associated with branch service, than self-service,” said Gerard Smith.

Cuscal worked with Teachers Mutual Bank, including several rounds of customer testing, to ensure that the app met the needs of the bank’s members.

”Cuscal helps financial institutions like Teachers Mutual Bank to compete with larger banks by providing great technology, which their customers really value,” said Cuscal’s Senior Manager Acquiring & Digital Solutions, Valentina Dunoski.

“With the launch of Teachers Mutual Bank’s app, there are now 22 brands using Cuscal’s white-label banking app – a number that has doubled in the past year and continues to grow. We also offer a growing suite of APIs, which financial institutions can plug into, as well as our other products like the New Payments Platform (NPP),” said Valentina Dunoski.

The rollout of the new Teachers Mutual Bank mobile application futureproofs the bank’s digital offering and will provide a platform for further innovation.

“The new app is a great platform, but over the next few years we want to go further. The next stages of our digital initiatives will give us a critical edge in a highly competitive banking market,” stated Gerard Smith.

Teachers Mutual Bank’s new mobile app can be downloaded for Apple devices from the App Store, and for Android devices from the Google Play store.

Media Contact
Jo Savill jsavill@cuscal.com.au 0447555018

*‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ Award, from Ethisphere Institute. (Awarded, 2016, 2015, 2014)
^ Teachers Mutual Bank led Australia’s Top 15 consumer banks on customer satisfaction rates for Jan-Jun 2017, see Roy Morgan Research