Australia Post gets green light for more secure online bill-paying

AUSTRALIA Post will launch an online authentication option for its bill payment service using two-factor devices during the first half of 2006.

The organisation has already held discussions with a number of key providers of e-services, including financial institutions and government agencies.

An Australian Post spokesman said the level of interest has been “so encouraging” that although final approval of the service was still pending, management had approved the next stage of the project.

“If all goes to plan, Post will have the service operating in the first half of 2006,” the spokesman said.

According to Australia Post’s 2003-04 annual report, it processed 170 million Postbillpay transactions.

The number of bill-payment partners increased with 564 billers now using the service, 335 offer an internet payment option, including Telstra, the City of Port Phillip and Eurgon Energy. The number of Postbillpay transactions conducted via the internet increased by 42 per cent, the annual report said.

The spokesman said, as two-factor technology was “expensive, cumbersome and difficult” for many organisations to justify, the ability for billers of online services to access Australia Post’s central system and “share” the costs would make higher security for customers more affordable.

“A shared solution has the added benefit of enabling their customer’s to use just one device to access all e-services that are registered with the online authentication service,” he said.

The spokesman said the service would be “largely invisible” to consumers once they have acquired the two-factor device.

Customers would enter an additional number, which would change for every logon, as part of their sign-on process.

The spokesman said it would be up to individual organisations to decide if the device provided to customers was branded or if Australia Post would issue a generic device.