Beem in Australia

What makes Beem worth understanding is the architecture. PayID, Osko, BPAY and PayTo all run on the New Payments Platform or its older sibling BECS, which are bank-to-bank rails. Beem doesn't. Beem runs on the eftpos network, the same payment rails that power tap-and-go debit card transactions at every petrol station, supermarket and corner shop in Australia. The user experience looks like a peer-to-peer payment app; the underlying mechanics are card-to-card transactions through the eftpos network.

This architectural choice has consequences. Beem works without needing the recipient to have a PayID, without requiring NPP participation at the recipient's bank, and without going through the bank account number layer at all. It also means both parties need a Beem account and a compatible Visa or Mastercard debit card. Beem is the simplest payment app for casual P2P among friends; it's not the right tool for receiving overseas income or paying a tradie.

This page covers what Beem actually is, how the eftpos-rails architecture differs from the NPP-based services, who runs it now and how it got there, what cards work and what cards don't, and where Beem fits in the Australian payments landscape.

Quick facts

The eftpos-not-NPP architecture

This is the technical detail that defines Beem and separates it from everything else in our Group B.

PayID, Osko, BPAY and PayTo are all bank-to-bank payment services. The money moves from one bank account to another through Australian Payments Plus infrastructure (the NPP or BECS). The participants are the banks; the customers are addressed through the banks.

Beem is different. The Beem app sits on top of the eftpos network, the domestic card network that powers tap-and-go debit transactions at point-of-sale. When you send money via Beem, the transaction routes as a card-to-card transfer between the two Beem users' linked debit cards. eftpos handles the network routing; your card-issuing bank handles the actual debit and credit on each side.

What this means in practice:

Both parties need a Beem account. Unlike PayID, where you can send money to anyone with an Australian bank account, Beem only works between Beem users. If the recipient doesn't have Beem, they need to install it before they can receive the payment.

Both parties need an eftpos-compatible debit card. Australian Visa or Mastercard debit cards work if they're eftpos online enabled. Most major banks issue cards that qualify; a handful of specialist or international-card issuers don't.

The payment doesn't require a bank account number. You're paying to a username or contact, which links to a card, which links to an account. No BSB, no account number, no PayID required.

The transaction settles in near-real-time. Eftpos online payments clear within seconds, comparable to NPP-based services but through a different mechanism.

Credit cards have limited functionality. Credit cards can be used for gift card purchases and earning rewards, but not for peer-to-peer payments. Debit only for P2P.

The eftpos-rails approach has historical reasons. When Beem launched in 2018, the NPP was brand new and the consumer-facing addressing layer (PayID) was just rolling out. eftpos already had a mature card network with universal AU coverage. Building Beem on eftpos rather than NPP gave it a faster path to user adoption. The decision has costs (smaller network than NPP-based services) but it was rational at the time.

Corporate history

Beem has an unusual ownership story among Australian payment services.

2018 launch. Three of Australia's Big Four banks (Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac) created Beem as a joint venture. The three banks were direct shareholders. The product was positioned as a competitive response to international P2P apps like Venmo and Cash App that had grown rapidly in the US.

2020 acquisition by eftpos. On 3 November 2020, eftpos acquired Beem from the three founding banks. Terms weren't disclosed. The acquisition gave eftpos a consumer-facing app to complement its merchant-side payment processing business. eftpos rebranded the underlying technology and started developing eftpos QR (eQR), a merchant QR-code payment platform built on the same foundation.

2022 renaming and AP+ formation. Beem dropped the "It" from its name in 2022. Around the same time, Australian Payments Plus (AP+) was formed by merging three previously separate organisations: BPAY, NPP Australia, and eftpos. Beem moved with eftpos into the AP+ umbrella, where it now sits alongside Osko, PayTo, PayID, BPAY and the merchant eftpos network as one of the consumer-facing AP+ products.

The current operator is Digital Wallet Pty Ltd, which holds Australian Financial Services Licence number 515270 issued by ASIC. This is worth flagging: Beem is the only product in our Group B coverage that operates under its own AFSL rather than through participating banks' licences. Customer protections sit directly with Digital Wallet Pty Ltd as an ASIC-regulated financial services provider.

How Beem works

Setting up Beem takes a few minutes.

Download the app from the App Store or Google Play. The app is free.

Create an account with your email address and a password. Verify your email.

Verify your identity through standard ASIC-compliant KYC. The Beem flow uses driver licence or passport details rather than scanning the document, which is faster than some competitor apps.

Link a payment card. You'll need an Australian Visa or Mastercard debit card that's eftpos online enabled (more on card compatibility below). The card is linked to your Beem account but isn't shared with other Beem users when you transact.

Find contacts. Beem syncs with your phone's contacts (with your permission) to identify which of your contacts are also Beem users. You can send money to anyone in your contact list who has Beem; for contacts without Beem, you can send a text invitation.

Send and receive money. Pick a contact, enter an amount, optionally add a note or emoji, and send. The transaction completes in seconds. The recipient gets a notification and the money lands on their linked card (and from there, in their bank account).

Card requirements and compatibility

This is where Beem's eftpos-rails architecture creates friction that NPP-based services don't have.

Compatible cards. Australian Visa or Mastercard debit cards that are eftpos online enabled. This includes cards from all Big Four banks, most regionals and digital banks, and most credit unions.

Not compatible.

• Cards that aren't eftpos online enabled (uncommon among Australian retail bank debit cards, but exists)
• Prepaid cards (because they typically don't operate on the eftpos network)
• Travel cards (same reason, usually classified as credit cards internally)
• Some Citibank cards (specifically the ones that aren't eftpos enabled)
• Macquarie Bank cards (compatibility issues historically; check current status)
• Southern Cross Credit Union cards
• Some Indue-issued cards (where the first six digits start with specific BIN ranges)

Credit cards. Beem accepts credit card linking, but functionality is restricted. Credit cards can be used for gift card purchases through Beem and for earning rewards on Beem Rewards. They cannot be used for peer-to-peer payments. P2P is debit-only.

From 1 March 2023. Beem implemented stricter eftpos online requirements. Cards that weren't eftpos online enabled stopped working for instant transfers from that date. This caught some users out, particularly those with older debit cards that hadn't been replaced since their bank's eftpos online rollout.

If your card doesn't work with Beem, the usual fix is to ask your bank to issue a new debit card. Most banks now issue eftpos online enabled cards as standard.

Features beyond peer-to-peer

The core Beem use case is sending money to a friend, but the app does more than that.

Bill splitting (Beem Split). Add an expense, choose who to split it with from your contacts, and the app tracks who owes what. Useful for holidays with friends, flatmates dividing household bills, group dinners. Settled within Beem when each person pays their share.

Move money between your own accounts. If you hold debit cards at multiple Australian banks, you can link them all to Beem and use Beem as an inter-bank transfer tool. Move A$200 from your Westpac account to your ING account by sending it from one of your own Beem-linked cards to another.

Beem Rewards. Cashback program with participating retailers. Earn small percentage rewards on eligible purchases made through the Beem checkout or with a Beem-linked card at participating merchants. Over 500 retailers participated as of 2022; the network has grown since.

Loyalty card storage. Add loyalty cards to the Beem app and present them at checkout via the in-app barcode. Reduces physical card clutter. The feature is functional rather than market-leading; dedicated loyalty apps like Stocard or your individual retailer apps do this better.

BPAY payments. Beem can initiate BPAY payments using your linked debit card. Convenient for occasional BPAY use without opening your main banking app. Standard BPAY timing (same-day to next-business-day) applies.

eftpos QR (eQR). A merchant-side product where retailers display a QR code and customers scan it with the Beem app to pay. Subway Australia became the first major QSR chain to adopt eQR through Beem, starting with North Sydney and Brisbane City locations in 2022. The merchant network has expanded since then.

Costs

Beem is free to download and free to use for peer-to-peer transfers. There are no fees from Beem to either the sender or recipient for instant payments between users.

Your card-issuing bank may technically charge fees for the underlying card transaction, but this is rare in practice for Australian debit cards used domestically. Some specialist or international card products have unusual fee structures; if you're using anything other than a standard AU bank debit card, check your card's terms.

Beem doesn't operate a paid tier. There are no monthly subscriptions, premium features, or paywalled extras. The free-to-consumer model is funded by the underlying eftpos transaction fee structure and by merchant-side products like eQR and Beem Checkout.

Where Beem is genuinely useful

Four scenarios where Beem is a reasonable choice.

Splitting expenses with friends who are also Beem users. Holidays, group dinners, flatmate bills. The Split feature is purpose-built for this and works smoothly when everyone's on Beem.

Sending money to a contact whose bank details you don't have. If you know someone's phone number but not their bank account, and they're a Beem user, Beem skips the bank-details step entirely.

Moving money between your own bank accounts. Link your various AU debit cards to Beem and use it as a quick inter-bank transfer tool. Faster and more convenient than logging into each bank app separately.

Casual peer-to-peer where Beem usage is already established. If your social or family group is already on Beem, the network effects make it easier to use Beem than to switch to PayID for transactions among the same people.

For broader use (sending money to anyone with an Australian bank account, receiving payments from people who aren't on Beem, business invoicing, government payments), PayID and Osko are usually better tools.

Where Beem falls short

Network effects work against it. Both parties need Beem. Compared to PayID where the sender just needs the recipient's mobile number, Beem's requirement that the recipient also installs an app creates friction. This is the main reason PayID has grown to 25 million registered users while Beem sits in single-digit millions.

Limited card compatibility. The requirement for eftpos online enabled debit cards excludes some niche card products and frustrated users when stricter rules came in from March 2023.

No credit card P2P. Credit cards work only for gift card purchases and rewards, not for peer-to-peer payments. This is a deliberate design choice (eftpos rails are debit-focused) but a limitation for users who'd prefer to pay friends with a credit card for points or float.

Smaller merchant network than NPP-based services. eQR adoption has grown but remains modest compared to traditional card acceptance or NPP-based instant payment services.

No direct integration with PayID. Beem and PayID don't share an identifier. A Beem user and a PayID user can't pay each other directly; they need to use a bridge mechanism (bank transfer, both add the other's bank account details). This is structurally awkward.

Domestic only. Like all AP+ products, Beem is for Australian transactions. No international transfers.

How Beem compares to alternatives

Against PayID, PayID is dramatically larger (25 million registered users versus a few million for Beem), works through any participating Australian bank without needing both parties on a specific app, and integrates with business invoicing and government payments. Beem's advantage is the contacts-based UX (you pay people, not bank accounts) and the bundled rewards/loyalty features. For most P2P use cases, PayID wins.

Against Osko, the comparison is more architectural than user-facing. Osko moves money bank-to-bank through the NPP; Beem moves money card-to-card through eftpos. For the user, both feel like instant payments. Osko has broader adoption and works with any bank's regular interface; Beem requires the app on both sides.

Against PayPal, PayPal is a stored-balance wallet with international reach and Buyer Protection. Beem is a domestic app for instant peer-to-peer between users on the same network. Different products for different jobs.

Against cash, Beem (and any of the other digital P2P methods) wins on convenience, on traceability, and on not having to find an ATM. Cash wins on anonymity and on working without any app, any bank account, any verification.

For a method-by-method comparison, see our e-wallet fees and speed comparison.