How to Accept Payments Online in Australia (Stripe, Square & More)

If you're an Australian plumber, cleaner, photographer, or any other small business owner who's never set up online payments before, this guide is for you. Not a comparison of who's cheapest — we've already written our full comparison of Stripe, Square and PayPal fees for that. This is the practical how-to: what you need, how to sign up, and how to collect your first payment online within the next hour.

Getting paid faster is one of the most impactful things a small business can do. A tradie who texts a payment link the moment a job is done gets paid that afternoon — not "whenever the client remembers to do a transfer." That difference in cash flow adds up fast.

What You Need Before You Start

Every reputable payment platform in Australia requires a few things before they'll let you accept money. Have these ready and the sign-up process takes about ten minutes:

• ABN (Australian Business Number): Stripe, Square, and PayPal all require an ABN to open a business account. If you're operating as a sole trader or registered company, you should already have one. If not, apply at abr.gov.au — it's free and typically issued within minutes.
• Australian bank account: All platforms pay out to an Australian bank account in your business name (or your name if you're a sole trader). Have your BSB and account number ready.
• Photo ID: A driver's licence or passport for identity verification. This is a legal requirement under Australian anti-money-laundering laws — every platform must verify who they're paying out to.
• Business details: Your trading name, registered address, and the type of business you run.

That's it. No premises inspection, no waiting period, no credit check.

Option 1: Stripe — Best for Invoicing and Online Payments

Stripe is the go-to choice for service businesses that send invoices — consultants, tradies billing commercial clients, photographers, coaches, and anyone who needs a professional "Pay Now" link attached to an invoice. It's also the best option if you ever want to take payments directly on a website.

How to get set up on Stripe

Once live, head to Payment Links in the Stripe dashboard. Create a link for a fixed amount (say, $350 for a service call) and you'll get a URL you can text or email to any client. They click it, enter their card details, and the money lands in your account within 2 business days. No website required.

For recurring invoicing, Stripe Invoicing lets you create a professional invoice with a "Pay Online" button built in. Send it from Stripe by email and the client can pay by card or, in some cases, direct debit. Stripe's domestic card rate is 1.7% + $0.30 per transaction.

Option 2: Square — Best If You Take In-Person Payments

Square is the winner for tradies, market stallholders, mobile hairdressers, or anyone who collects payment face-to-face. Square sends you a free contactless card reader when you sign up, and the app turns your phone into a payment terminal immediately.

How to get set up on Square

Square also has invoicing built in, so you can send payment links for jobs where the client pays later. Square's flat rate is 1.9% per transaction — no separate rate for international cards, which is handy if you serve any overseas clients. Square also integrates with Xero, so your payments sync automatically to your accounts.

Option 3: EFT (Bank Transfer) — Still Very Common in Australia

Direct bank transfer (EFT — Electronic Funds Transfer) using your BSB and account number remains one of the most common payment methods in Australian business-to-business transactions. There are no fees to receive an EFT payment, which makes it attractive for large invoices where even a 1.7% card fee adds up.

To accept EFT, simply put your bank details on your invoice:

• Bank name
• BSB (6-digit branch code)
• Account number
• Account name (your business or trading name)
• A reference number (your invoice number) so you can match the payment when it arrives

The downside is that EFT gives you no control over when payment arrives. "I'll transfer it" often means days later — or not at all. For small or one-off jobs, a card payment link is almost always better for cash flow. EFT works best for trusted repeat clients or large commercial invoices where the client's accounts department has a set payment run.

Our free GST invoice generator creates a compliant invoice with your bank details pre-formatted for EFT payment.

Option 4: BPAY — Good for Subscription and Utility-Style Billing

BPAY is uniquely Australian — it's a bank-to-bank payment system that lets customers pay bills directly from their online banking, using a Biller Code and a Customer Reference Number (CRN). You'll recognise it from electricity bills, insurance premiums, and local council rates.

BPAY is not something you set up yourself as a small business. To accept BPAY, you need to become a BPAY biller — which typically requires going through your bank or a payment gateway that supports BPAY, and there are monthly fees involved. It's most suitable for:

• Businesses with a large number of regular customers paying recurring amounts (gyms, subscription services, strata management)
• Businesses where customers strongly prefer paying from their internet banking (common with older customers)
• Businesses that want to offer a "no card required" payment option alongside card payments

For most sole traders and small businesses, BPAY is overkill. EFT or a payment link via Stripe/Square achieves the same result with less setup. If BPAY is right for your business, contact your bank's merchant services team to discuss becoming a registered BPAY biller.

Option 5: Afterpay and Zip — Buy Now, Pay Later

Afterpay and Zip are hugely popular in Australian retail — roughly one in three Australians has used a buy-now-pay-later service. If you sell products or services to consumers (not B2B), offering Afterpay or Zip can meaningfully increase your average order value, because customers don't have to pay the full amount upfront.

The trade-off is merchant fees: Afterpay charges merchants approximately 4–6% per transaction (compared to 1.7–1.9% for a card payment). Zip's rates are similar. You receive the full payment amount immediately — Afterpay and Zip take on the risk of collecting from the consumer in instalments.

How to offer Afterpay or Zip:

• If you use Square: Afterpay is natively integrated. Turn it on in your Square dashboard and customers can select it at checkout — both online and in-person via the Square app.
• If you have an e-commerce website: Both Afterpay and Zip have plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, and other platforms.
• If you don't have a website: Afterpay offers a "Afterpay Link" feature (similar to Stripe's payment links) for service businesses — worth exploring if you have a consumer-facing trade business.

Afterpay and Zip are generally not worth the fee premium for B2B businesses or high-ticket professional services. They're most effective for retail, beauty, and trade businesses selling to consumers.

Option 6: B2BPay — Accepting Credit Cards for B2B Invoices

Here's a specifically Australian scenario: you send a $10,000 invoice to a corporate client, and you'd prefer to be paid by card so the money arrives immediately — but the client's accounts team normally does everything by EFT. B2BPay solves this.

B2BPay is an Australian payment platform designed specifically for business-to-business payments. It lets your clients pay your invoices by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, or Amex) even when the invoice would normally be paid by bank transfer. B2BPay charges the card fee to the paying business rather than absorbing it yourself — so you receive the full invoice amount.

This is particularly popular with professional services firms, freight companies, and trade businesses that regularly invoice other businesses. It's a meaningful alternative to platforms like Stripe or PayPal for B2B contexts, because the fee structure is designed around large invoice values rather than consumer transactions.

Option 7: Tyro — Australian-Built EFTPOS

Tyro is an Australian fintech that provides EFTPOS terminals and online payment processing. It's particularly common in hospitality, medical, and high-volume retail — Tyro terminals integrate with Australian practice management software and POS systems like Kounta and Lightspeed.

Tyro is worth considering if your business does significant in-person card volume and you want a purpose-built Australian solution. Tyro also makes it easy to apply a card surcharge (common in Australian cafes and medical practices), passing the merchant fee to customers where your industry allows it. Rates start from around 1.4% for domestic Visa/Mastercard at higher volumes — contact Tyro for a custom quote based on your monthly turnover.

GST: What You Need to Know

Getting set up to accept payments online also means getting your GST obligations right.

Are you registered for GST?

If your business earns more than $75,000 per year, you must register for GST with the ATO. Once registered, you must add 10% GST to your prices (or include it in your displayed price) and remit it to the ATO via your Business Activity Statement (BAS). If you're under the threshold, GST registration is optional — many sole traders choose to register anyway so they can claim GST credits on their business expenses.

GST invoicing requirements

When you accept payment online, your invoice must be a valid tax invoice if the amount is $82.50 or more (GST-inclusive). A valid tax invoice must include:

• The words "Tax Invoice" clearly displayed
• Your business name and ABN
• The date the invoice was issued
• A description of what was sold
• The GST amount (either shown separately or a statement that the total includes GST)
• The total amount payable

Stripe Invoicing, Square Invoices, and our free GST invoice generator all produce ATO-compliant tax invoices automatically. If you're doing this manually in Word or Excel, double-check your invoice template against the list above.

Merchant fees are tax-deductible

Every dollar you pay in payment processing fees (Stripe's 1.7%, Square's 1.9%, Afterpay's 4–6%) is a deductible business expense. If you're registered for GST, you can also claim the GST component of those fees as an input tax credit on your BAS. Your monthly statements from Stripe or Square serve as the tax invoices that support those claims — download and keep them.

ATO record-keeping for online payments

The ATO requires you to keep records of all business income for at least five years. From 2024, payment platforms are required to report merchant settlement data directly to the ATO — meaning the ATO already knows how much came through your Stripe or Square account. Ensure your BAS income declarations match what your payment platform has paid out to you. Most platforms generate downloadable transaction reports that make this straightforward.

Payment Links Without a Website

If you're just starting out and wondering whether you need a website before you can take online payments — you don't. Both Stripe and Square let you create a payment link in under two minutes, with no website involved. You copy the link and send it via SMS, WhatsApp, or email.

For a sole trader plumber or cleaner getting started, the workflow is:

1. Complete the job
2. Open Stripe or Square on your phone
3. Create a payment link for the job amount
4. Text it to the client: "Here's the payment link for today's job — $320 inc GST"
5. Money arrives in your account within 1–2 business days

That said, a professional website does increase the number of clients who find you in the first place — and makes the whole payment experience feel more legitimate. When you're ready to think about a tradie website, a well-built one should have payment-ready contact forms and quote request functionality built in from day one.

Which Option Is Right for You?

Here's a plain-English guide by business type:

• Tradie doing residential jobs (plumber, electrician, cleaner): Start with Square. Get the free card reader, take tap-to-pay on-site. Use payment links for clients who aren't home when you finish.
• Service business invoicing other businesses (consultant, accountant, designer): Stripe Invoicing connected to Xero. Professional invoices with a "Pay Now" button — it's the cleanest workflow for B2B billing.
• Retail or market stall: Square for the POS hardware and flat 1.9% rate. Add Afterpay if your customers frequently ask for it.
• B2B with large invoices: Offer EFT as standard, add B2BPay as a card payment option for clients who want the flexibility.
• Subscription or recurring billing: Stripe (supports automatic card charging) or investigate BPAY if your client base is strongly bank-transfer-oriented.

For a deeper look at how Stripe, Square, and PayPal compare on fees and features, see our full comparison of Stripe, Square and PayPal fees. If you're weighing up website costs in Australia alongside your payment setup, that guide breaks down every pricing tier from DIY to agency.

And if you're ready to move beyond payment links to a professional website with built-in quote forms and contact flows, our $999 flat-fee website is delivered in 7 days with no monthly fees — it's built to match whatever payment setup you land on.