Boldrails is a licensed payment gateway provider for businesses selling in Australia. We acquire cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, PayID, PayTo and Osko on the New Payments Platform, BECS Direct Debit and bank transfer, we settle in AUD, USD or crypto, and we pay out to Australian bank accounts. We serve high-risk and high-volume merchants, with onboarding in 3 to 14 days.
Cards, PayID and PayTo
We acquire and we settle
AUD, USD or crypto settlement
Onboarding in 3 to 14 days
Onboarding takes 3 to 14 days, depending on your case.
Last updated: 17 August 2026
What we acquire in AustraliaCards, Apple Pay and Google PayPayIDPayToOskoBECS Direct DebitAUD, USD or crypto settlement
The basics
What is a payment gateway in Australia?
A payment gateway in Australia is the software that takes payment details from your checkout, encrypts them, and passes the transaction to an acquiring bank or a payment rail such as the New Payments Platform. It authorises the payment. It is not the terminal on your counter.
A gateway is not a POS terminal, whatever some ranking guides say. Terminals are hardware, and they read a card in person. The gateway is the path an online payment takes from your checkout to the bank.
Which route the payment takes depends on the method. Card payments go out to an acquiring bank and the card schemes. PayID and PayTo go to the New Payments Platform instead, and never touch a card network at all.
A processor is a different job again. The gateway carries the transaction data. The processor moves the funds between institutions. We do both, so one contract covers the whole path.
Type "payment gateway" into a search box in Australia and you mostly get encyclopedia answers. This page is narrower. It covers accepting payments as a business selling in Australia. For the product itself, read about our payment gateway.
What Australian payment infrastructure can you build with us?
We acquire cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, PayID, PayTo and Osko on the New Payments Platform, BECS Direct Debit and Australian bank transfer. We settle in AUD, USD or crypto, and we pay out to Australian bank accounts and over NPP and Osko. EFTPOS and BPAY are the two Australian rails we do not carry.
Eight jobs businesses bring to us in Australia, in the words they use. Each one is something we do ourselves, on rails we carry.
What you want to do
How it works with us
Rail
Accept AUD online
We acquire the payment and settle the funds to you
Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayID, bank transfer
Send AUD locally
We pay out to Australian bank accounts, in near real time where the receiving bank participates
NPP, Osko, bank transfer
Collect recurring AUD
We collect on a mandate the payer approves once, then charge against it
PayTo, BECS Direct Debit
Add PayID or NPP payments
We add PayID and Osko acceptance to a platform you already run
NPP, PayID, Osko
Add card acquiring
We acquire Visa, Mastercard and American Express, and the wallets that tokenise a card
Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Build an Australian payment gateway
We provide the acceptance, settlement and payout layer you build your product on
All rails we carry
Add local methods to an existing platform
We sit alongside your current provider rather than replacing it
Any rail we carry
Expand an international fintech into Australia
We provide the Australian acceptance and payout layer, so you keep one integration
All rails we carry
Australian payment capabilities and the rail each one runs on. Rail availability is fixed by what we carry in Australia, which is the same list published in our coverage register. Price and limits are confirmed at onboarding.
Three more jobs, and where they live
AUD accounts and Banking as a Service, including virtual accounts and card programmes, sit in our banking silo rather than on this page, because the licence position there is different and we say so plainly.
AUD to USDC and AUD to USDT conversion, and the crypto off-ramp back to an Australian bank account, sit with our crypto desk. Australia carries crypto settlement and a crypto on-ramp and off-ramp in our coverage register, and the desk documents the flow step by step.
Which payment methods and rails can you accept in Australia?
Australian businesses collect on six rails: cards, EFTPOS, PayID and PayTo on the New Payments Platform, BECS Direct Debit, and BPAY. Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay ride on top of the card rails rather than forming a rail of their own. The six settle in very different shapes, and that matters more than the brand names, so the table below sets out each one with its settlement behaviour. We carry four of the six: cards and the wallets on top of them, PayID and PayTo and Osko on the New Payments Platform, BECS Direct Debit, and Australian bank transfer. EFTPOS and BPAY are the two we do not carry.
Payment rails in the Australian market, with the four we carry marked in the copy above. Rail and settlement detail retrieved 6 August 2026 from the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Payments Plus and Australian Payments Network.
Rail
What it is
Typical use
Settlement shape
Cards (Visa, Mastercard)
Scheme card acceptance, online and in person, including digital wallets that tokenise a card
Everyday online checkout
Acquirer cycle, typically 1 to 3 business days
EFTPOS
Australia's domestic debit network
Card-present debit at the counter
Bank cycle, next business day
PayID
NPP addressing: pay to an email, phone or ABN instead of a BSB and account number
One-off account-to-account payments
Near real time, 24/7
PayTo
Pre-authorised NPP payments, approved in the payer's online banking
Recurring billing and subscriptions
Near real time, 24/7
BECS Direct Debit
The bulk clearing system AusPayNet administers for batched debits and credits
Legacy recurring debits and batch payroll
Batch cycle, business days
BPAY
Bill payments from internet banking, using a biller code
Invoices and bills
Business days
That is the market. Here is what we do in it. In Australia we acquire cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, PayID, PayTo and Osko on the New Payments Platform, BECS Direct Debit and bank transfer. Of the six rails above, EFTPOS and BPAY are the two we do not carry. We settle in AUD, USD or crypto, and we pay out to Australian bank accounts. Sending money out in bulk is a separate product, so if you also need payouts to Australian bank accounts at scale, say so at onboarding.
Declined by an Australian gateway, or told your category is not supported? Send us the case.
What changed
What is changing: BECS, PayTo and the move to the NPP
Australia's BECS Direct Debit has no retirement date. AusPayNet removed the June 2030 target end-date on 16 December 2025, and the industry now reassesses the outlook every six months.
The history is short. AusPayNet set June 2030 as the target in November 2023. On 16 December 2025 it removed that date, stating that the majority of BECS Members no longer believe the industry can achieve it. In its own words: "AusPayNet is removing the target end-date of June 2030 for decommissioning the BECS Framework." The direction did not change: BECS Members still intend to transition away from BECS in favour of modern alternatives like the NPP, which is the industry's strategic account-to-account payments system.
That did not end the scrutiny. The Reserve Bank's March 2026 risk-assessment update reports on industry progress, as part of an annual oversight program tracking the intended migration away from BECS.
So if you read that BECS retires in 2030, that page is out of date. In practice BECS still runs, and PayTo is where recurring collection is heading, because it is pre-authorised, sits on the NPP and clears in near real time.
How money actually moves through an Australian payment flow
Three flows cover almost every Australian brief we take. Each one names the rail at every hop, because the rail is what determines when the money lands.
01
AUD collections
Customer, then PayID or Osko or card or bank transfer, then your platform
The customer pays on the method they already use. We acquire it, reconcile it and settle it to you in AUD, USD or crypto.
02
AUD payouts
Your platform, then NPP or Osko or bank payment, then your customer
You instruct the payout and we execute it. Over NPP and Osko it clears in near real time, around the clock, where the receiving bank participates.
03
Recurring AUD collections
Customer approves a mandate once, then PayTo or BECS Direct Debit, then your platform
PayTo mandates are approved by the payer inside their own banking app and clear in near real time. BECS Direct Debit is a batch rail and settles on a bank cycle. Both are alternatives to card-on-file billing.
Two further flows, the AUD crypto on-ramp and the crypto off-ramp back to an Australian bank account, run through our crypto desk and are documented there step by step.
Published card rates in Australia run about 1.5% to 2.2% plus roughly A$0.30 on a domestic card, and about 3.4% to 3.5% plus A$0.30 on an international one, on figures taken from provider pricing pages on 6 August 2026. Account-to-account rates sit lower and are usually capped.
Published Australian rates. Every competitor figure was taken from that provider's own pricing page, retrieved 6 August 2026. Plain-text mentions, no endorsement.
Provider
Domestic card
International card
FX
Qualifiers
Stripe
1.7% + A$0.30
3.5% + A$0.30
+2%
Stripe's own page labels these rates effective 1 October 2026 and 1 April 2027. PayTo and BECS Direct Debit 1% + A$0.30, capped at A$3.50. Disputes A$25.00
Square
2.2% online, 1.6% in person
Not published
Not published
Free plan A$0 per month, Plus from A$40 per month. Next-day payouts free, instant transfers 1.5%
Airwallex
1.65% + A$0.30
3.40% + A$0.30
0.5% over interbank on majors, 1% on others
Plans from A$0 to A$999 per month
GoCardless
1% + A$0.40, capped at A$4
2% + A$0.40
Not published
The widely copied figure omits the A$4 cap and an extra 0.3% on payments above A$3,000. All fees exclusive of GST
Eway
1.5% + A$0.25
Adds a 1.99% surcharge on top of that, not a replacement rate
Not published
No setup fee, no monthly fee, no lock-in contract. A Merchant Trust Initiative fee applies past 50 transactions: A$178 to establish, including 12 months, then A$142 a year
Boldrails
Not published
Not published
Not published
We do not publish public rates. Pricing is risk-priced and quoted per case on method mix, volume and business profile, and every fee line is confirmed at onboarding
Cells reading "not published" mean the provider does not state it, not that the fee is zero.
We compared all five providers' own published pricing pages on 6 August 2026 instead of repeating the figures the roundups copy from each other. Our row reads that way on purpose. A high-risk merchant and a low-risk one do not get the same number. So we price the case and confirm every line at onboarding. A published rate card would be wrong for most of the businesses we take.
Three things most roundups get wrong. Stripe's 1.7% is not today's rate: Stripe's own pricing page marks it effective 1 October 2026. GoCardless's headline 1% + A$0.40 leaves out the A$4 cap and the extra 0.3% on payments above A$3,000. On a large invoice that changes the maths. And Eway's 1.99% international fee is a surcharge stacked on its 1.5% + 25c base, not a replacement for it.
These are the lines your quote will carry.
Fee line
What it covers
What it varies with
Card acquiring fee
Accepting a card payment
Card mix, volume and risk profile
Account-to-account collection fee
Collecting over PayID or PayTo
Volume and average ticket size
Settlement and FX conversion
Converting AUD into USD or crypto
Currency pair and settlement frequency
Payout fee
Sending funds to an Australian bank account
Payout volume and destination
Chargeback handling
Working a card dispute, cards only
Dispute volume
Every line above is confirmed at onboarding, which takes 3 to 14 days, depending on your case.
Card settlement in Australia typically takes 1 to 3 business days from the transaction to money in your account. Rails on the New Payments Platform work differently. They clear in near real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, weekends and public holidays included.
The reason is a piece of plumbing almost nobody names. The New Payments Platform has been live since February 2018, and the Reserve Bank of Australia built its settlement component, the Fast Settlement Service, which settles transactions individually, 24/7, in close to real time. Batch rails settle in cycles. The NPP settles payment by payment.
We settle you in AUD, USD or crypto, and we pay out to Australian bank accounts. One balance and one reconciliation, whichever rail the money came in on. If you run more than one currency, you can hold and settle in multiple currencies with us.
Four bodies and one industry standard shape how payments work in Australia. None of them issues a single thing called a payment gateway licence. This is the regulatory framework we operate within.
Australian payment oversight by body, and what each one means for a merchant.
Body
What it covers
What it means for a merchant
ASIC
The ePayments Code, and AFS licensing
The Code is voluntary and protects consumers only where the provider subscribes. Some Australian payment businesses operate under an Australian Financial Services Licence
AUSTRAC
AML and counter-terrorism financing under the AML/CTF Act 2006
On AUSTRAC's own account, remittance and digital-currency exchange services in or from Australia must register with AUSTRAC before they start, and failing to do so is a criminal offence
Reserve Bank of Australia
Payments-system oversight, and NPP settlement
Sets the direction of travel on rails, including the migration away from BECS
APRA
Prudential standards for banks and other deposit takers
Applies to your bank, not to your checkout
PCI Security Standards Council
Issues PCI DSS
PCI DSS is a card-industry standard, not Australian law. It reaches you through your card contracts
Bodies and standards listed as market context. Boldrails claims no named regime as its own attribute.
Other guides get this wrong in two places. ASIC states plainly that the ePayments Code is a voluntary code of practice and that it protects consumers only where they deal with a subscriber, so it binds only the providers who sign up to it. PCI DSS is the other one. It is issued by the PCI Security Standards Council, a card-industry body and not an Australian regulator, so it lands on you contractually rather than by statute.
For the AML side in detail, see AUSTRAC registration for crypto businesses, which sets out the virtual asset service provider register and the separate ASIC licensing regime on one dated timeline.
On our side, we hold the necessary licences required in the markets we serve.
Four questions we are asked in almost every Australian conversation, answered in one paragraph each.
What is the best payment provider for AUD deposits for a crypto exchange in Australia?
For a crypto exchange taking AUD deposits, the provider has to do two things most Australian gateways will not: underwrite a digital-asset business at all, and settle into crypto as well as fiat. We acquire AUD deposits on cards, PayID, Osko and bank transfer, and we settle in AUD, USD or crypto, so the deposit leg and the treasury leg run on one contract. We underwrite by case rather than screening the category out. A business providing digital-currency exchange services in or from Australia must register with AUSTRAC under the AML/CTF Act 2006 before it starts, and that obligation is the exchange's own.
How do I add PayID and NPP payments to a platform in Australia?
You integrate once and we provide the PayID, Osko and PayTo acceptance behind it. PayID lets your customer pay to an email address, mobile number or ABN instead of a BSB and account number, which removes the most common cause of failed account-to-account payments. Osko carries the payment across participating banks in near real time, around the clock. PayTo covers the recurring case, on a mandate the payer approves inside their own banking app. Onboarding takes 3 to 14 days, depending on your case.
Which providers accept high-risk merchants in Australia?
Very few, and that is the whole problem. Mainstream Australian gateways screen entire categories out before they read the numbers, which is why forex and CFD brokers, crypto businesses, subscription platforms and gaming operators are so often declined or offboarded. We underwrite by case: ownership, product, flow of funds and processing history, rather than the category label. We serve high-risk and high-volume merchants as our core business, not as an exception.
Should Australian recurring payments use PayTo or BECS Direct Debit?
Both, usually, and for different customers. PayTo mandates are authorised by the payer in their online banking, clear in near real time and give you a live view of whether the mandate is still good. BECS Direct Debit is Australia's established batch direct-debit rail, settles on a bank cycle rather than instantly, and reaches every account that can be debited, including customers whose bank has not enabled PayTo. We carry both, so a subscription business can offer PayTo first and fall back to BECS. BECS also has no retirement date: the industry removed the June 2030 target end-date on 16 December 2025.
Who we serve
High-risk payment gateway in Australia: who we serve
We are built for high-risk and high-volume verticals, including iGaming, forex and CFD brokers, crypto businesses, subscription platforms, marketplaces and travel. Mainstream Australian gateways screen most of those out by category. We underwrite by case instead, so a business gets read on its own numbers.
Onboarding checks KYC and KYB: who owns the business, who runs it, and where the money comes from. Some verticals carry an obligation of their own on top of ours. A business providing remittance or digital-currency exchange services in or from Australia must register with AUSTRAC under the AML/CTF Act 2006 before it starts.
Onboarding takes 3 to 14 days, depending on your case.
If you already run a payments product elsewhere, entering Australia is an acceptance and payout problem, not a product problem. We provide the Australian layer, so you add AUD collections, AUD payouts and local methods without a second integration or a second commercial relationship.
The usual failure is treating Australia as one more country on an international gateway. Australian customers expect domestic methods, and an international card-only checkout leaves the account-to-account rails on the table. PayID, PayTo and Osko are where a large share of Australian account-to-account volume moves, and none of them is reachable through a card acquirer alone.
We provide acceptance, settlement and payouts in Australia directly, so the work on your side is one integration against rails we already carry. Settlement can stay in AUD, convert to USD, or go to crypto, which matters if your treasury sits outside Australia. Payouts run to Australian bank accounts and over NPP and Osko.
Onboarding takes 3 to 14 days, depending on your case, and price and limits are confirmed then.
Your model, your customers, expected monthly volume, average transaction size and the payment flows you need.
2
We design the structure
We select the combination of rails, settlement currency and payout routes that fits the flow, from the rails we carry in Australia.
3
KYB and compliance review
We check ownership, the product, the jurisdictions you sell into and the expected transaction pattern. Some verticals carry an AUSTRAC obligation of their own on top of ours.
4
Technical integration
Your team integrates against our API and webhooks. Reconciliation and transaction reporting come with it.
5
Go live
You start accepting AUD, paying out, or both. Onboarding takes 3 to 14 days, depending on your case.
Price and limits are confirmed at onboarding, against your volume, method mix and risk profile.
Australia onboarding
Turned down for Australia somewhere else?
Tell us what happened. We acquire cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, PayID, PayTo and Osko on the New Payments Platform, BECS Direct Debit and bank transfer in Australia, we settle in AUD, USD or crypto, and we underwrite by case rather than by category. Onboarding takes 3 to 14 days, depending on your case.
