The Board of Integrated Payment Technologies Limited(Company) (ASX: IP1) has recently conducted a strategic review of the Company’s product development, business focus and financial and human resources.

As a result of this review, Mr Robin Beauchamp will step back from his current role as CEO of the Company, effective today.

The Board will commence a search for an appropriately qualified and experienced executive to fill the CEO role and lead the Company in its revised strategy outlined below.

The Board noted the contribution of Mr Beauchamp to the Company, and welcomed his continued tenure in the capacity of Chief Technical Officer under his current contract terms (except for change of title and duties).

Strategic Review

A recent Board review of the Company’s strategic direction and focus identified the following objectives:

• Generation of greater income streams from ClickSuper and the Company’s STP (Single Touch Payroll) products and services through new client contracts;
• Release of PayVu on 21st February 2019 with associated early adopter commitment to the product; and
• Achieve greater income streams from new PayVu clients with user profiles similar to early adopters (i.e. limited new development required).

Capital Raising

In reviewing staffing and resources of the business necessary to implement its revised strategy while also managing costs, the Board has commenced a review to determine if there is a need for additional capital beyond June 2019.  The Board will make a further disclosure at the conclusion of this review.

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“Removing the need for a third-party involvement to handle the payroll is the most logical and immediately available solution to restore trust to employers and the ATO that the payroll and PAYG system is operating with zero opportunity for fraud,” said Don Sharp from Integrated Payment Technologies (InPayTech).

“Employers caught up in the Plutus Payroll fraud could still be liable for tax that was stolen by the payroll company as they remain responsible for those tax payments which never made it,” he said.

InPayTech has developed a unique payments technology, PayVu, which delivers a greater certainty for employers and the ATO as it fully automates payroll and tax payments and it eliminates the need for the third party handling of monies.

“PayVu eliminates the need for employers to outsource payroll services and it therefore removes the opportunity for illegal behaviour,” said Sharp.

PayVu is like an overlay service that will sit over the top of the New Payments Platform (NPP), which will be introduced from July 1 this year. The NPP will enable businesses and government agencies to make faster payments, with near real-time funds availability to the recipient, on a 24/7 basis. Each payment message will be capable of carrying much richer remittance information than existing systems.

Similar to the NPP infrastructure that will support overlay services, PayVu offers an innovative payment service to end-users such as employers.
“PayVu goes a significant way to reducing the opportunity for payroll fraud. It sits within the existing banking system and can be used by employers to fully automate payroll payments to employees and taxation payments to the ATO,” Sharp said.

“Importantly, PayVu speeds up payments and it removes the need for third parties such as payroll companies and clearing houses to make payments on their behalf, without detracting from employers’ access and control of payments,” said Sharp.

The Plutus payroll scandal has been labelled Australia’s largest white collar crime, with increasing calls for additional legislative crackdowns on those entrusted to process the pay, benefits and taxation of working people.

“The unfortunate story of alleged corruption and greed behind the doors of Plutus Payroll should serve as a reminder that no amount of additional laws can prevent those with the knowledge, resources and criminal intent to illegally exploit existing systemic loopholes.

“The key to avoiding such fraud is to fully automate payments at the employer level, which takes the opportunity away from third parties to pocket monies intended for the ATO and other parties,” said Sharp.

“Using internet banking, PayVu bridges the gap between accounting and payroll systems and the ATO. The product gives time back to business owners and their bookkeepers by reducing the payment process from hours to minutes and it adds certainty to the outcome by ensuring payments are received by the intended recipients virtually on the same day they are made,” he said.

“There are no opportunities for payroll backlogs, delays or fraud.”

The post Hands off the money! How technology can stop the next payroll fraud appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Robin Beauchamp

Australian superannuation funds and SME employers must move to embrace a digital, member direct model of contributions payment technology that is gathering pace alongside the 2017 introduction of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP).

“Clearing houses have traditionally played a significant role in the processing of superannuation contributions for Australia’s small-to-medium enterprises,” said InPayTech chief executive Robin Beauchamp.“

“But the introduction of the NPP later this year heralds a change in the ground rules for payment processing, and provides a mechanism for same-day settlement of superannuation payments.“

“This is a step change in not only the time and cost efficiencies for superannuation transactions, but will heighten consumer expectations of the way their money leaves the employer, moves through the electronic banking system, to their super account,“ he said.

Mr Beauchamp said the introduction of SuperStream’s administrative ‘plumbing’ has positively impacted processing times and streamlined the transmission of superannuation contributions data and payments.“

“However, the current Direct Debit payment rules means the traditional Clearing Houses must hold the contribution money in their trust account for an average of 4.2 days. New technology, available to SME’s, securely bypasses this and reduces payments time to the same day,” he said.

Mr Beauchamp warned funds and employers to remain vigilant to the reluctance by Clearing Houses and those organisations that direct their employee super through them to enable new technology.“These firms are reluctant to embrace any model that reduces their income – particularly one that removes the capacity to earn income for abiding by the Direct Debit rules,” he said.

“These firms are reluctant to embrace any model that reduces their income – particularly one that removes the capacity to earn income for abiding by the Direct Debit rules,” he said.
InPayTech’s PayVu technology is expected to transform the traditional approach to Superannuation contributions. The new payment model is called Employer Direct. Simply, this model emulates the NPP and replaces the average 4.2-day delay with same-day settlement.

PayVu is the first technology offer to provide Employer Direct – placing control back in the hands of the employer, along with the interest earned from the contributions money.
The benefit does not stop with the contribution transaction. It extends also to reconciling misplaced or mistaken allocations.

“For example, if the superannuation fund is unable to allocate a contribution, Member Direct enables the secure return/refund of the money directly back to the employer, removing the Clearing House from the transaction flow and allowing the employee contributions to be quickly re-allocated to the correct fund,” he said.

PayVu and the Employer Direct model provide an ideal opportunity for SME users of Clearing Houses to adopt an approach that delivers significant personal benefits to the SME owners and their staff. This latest technology approach is a clear disrupter and looks set to trigger the end of the traditional Clearing House solution for SME’s.

PayVu will be released on Monday, April 24, 2017.

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Robin Beauchamp

Australian small businesses operating cloud-based accounting software can benefit from a unique software overlay system called PayVu that speeds up superannuation payments to the same day, and eliminates the current inefficiencies of employers needing to deal with third party clearing agencies.

Designed by Integrated Payment Technologies Limited (InPayTech), PayVu reduces the transaction time of superannuation payments made by clearing houses from the average of 4.2 days currently, to the same day.

Additionally, by automatically linking data to each unique payment, the need for employers to manually match data to payments in their accounting software is also removed.

“Small business may be the backbone of the Australian economy, but superannuation payment requirements are the bane of the small employer.

PayVu solves what is currently for many of Australia’s 700,000 small to medium enterprise (SME) employers a thoroughly cumbersome and inefficient system,” said InPayTech chief executive Robin Beauchamp.

“PayVu not only removes the ‘middle man’ of clearing houses, but adds immediate ease, efficiency and security to the direct payment of employee super entitlements, without detracting from the access and control of payments for SMEs.

This is vital for cashflow sensitive small businesses,” he said.

Mr Beauchamp said the downstream benefits of making the payment of super more efficient at the point of payment for SME’s, from their own bank account (not a clearing house) include:

• Giving employers a direct relationship to each employee’s superannuation fund (and vice versa)
• Compliance with the Governments SuperStream reporting regime
• A potential dollar benefit to fund member (by having their retirement savings monies invested in their super account 4.2 days earlier)
• A benefit to super funds that are enabled to deal directly with the employer, not the clearing house, which is more efficient

Additionally, in the event of monies being returned from the superannuation fund the payment would be paid to the employer’s bank account. Currently, returned funds suffer delays through the Clearing House being paid , then being reconciled, before returning to the employer.

“Again,” Mr Beauchamp commented, “PayVu significantly reduces the delay in getting the funds invested.

“InPayTech has beta tested PayVu and is delighted with its proven capability. The introduction of this system to Australian small employers has far-reaching efficiency benefits.

We continue to explore other applications for PayVu technology beyond the superannuation sphere, and are excited to be focusing for the moment on making the payment of retirement savings far more speedy and efficient for SMEs,” he said.

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InPayTech has received bids and commitments for over $3,000,000 from institutional and retail investors. The Offer seeks to raise a maximum of $5,000,000.

InPayTech Chairman Don Sharp said: “I’m pleased with the early and strong investor support we have received, having achieved the minimum subscription with three weeks remaining until the IPO closes.”

Mr Sharp indicated the company would give preference to retail investors for all future subscribers to the offer.

InPayTech’s offer period is expected to close on 18 November, 2016.

Brokers to the issue are Kimber Capital, Veritas Securities Limited and Gobarralong Capital.

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InPayTech is an Australian financial technology company that has created a unique payments process in support of Australia’s banking, wealth management and superannuation sectors.

The Prospectus offers a total of up to 25,000,000 Shares in the Company at a price of 20 cents per Share (the Offer). The Offer seeks to raise a minimum of $3,000,000 and a maximum of $5,000,000.

The company would have cash of $2,300,000 under the minimum subscription and $4,173,000 under the maximum subscription, and be debt free.

InPayTech’s offer period is expected to close on 18 November, 2016.

Brokers to the issue are Kimber Capital, Veritas Securities Limited and Gobarralong Capital.

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The ATO has slated changes from July 1, 2017 to the payment of Australian wages, called the Single Touch

STP acknowledges the natural payroll process as a fundamental business activity for storing and transmitting key employee data. Further, STP provides the basis to reduce compliance costs for employers while simultaneously, securely leveraging the data to drive better outcomes for employers and employees alike.
“The streamlining of business payroll data and super payments should reduce costs to SMEs, for example eliminating a lot of paperwork that the current Pay as You Go (PAYG) tax system generates for employers who manually track their employee PAYG payments,” Mr Sharp said.

STP also has the potential to benefit the payment of superannuation, as the way wages are paid from July 1 next year becomes more efficient and transparent, with flow-on effects for the payment of Superannuation Guarantee payments.

“The Government is looking to open the option to introduce real-time payments of superannuation at the time of making payroll payments, which is a sensible approach. As money is invested sooner on behalf of the employee, it creates the potential to boost each individual’s retirement savings.

“It may also help to reduce or even eliminate the incidence of non-compliance. Around $3Billion in annual superannuation payments is currently not paid, and this streamlined approach will help to track, monitor and reduce the incidence of non-compliance,” he said.

“What we see with STP is an efficiency bonus for small employers,” Mr Sharp said. “The Government has also announced a one off $100 tax offset for SMEs generating less than $2 million that purchase approved reporting software.”

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Government regulation has greater power to disrupt the industry than organic innovation: Don Sharp.

Government regulation imposed on Australia’s banking, wealth management and superannuation sector has greater power to disrupt the industry than organic innovation, according to senior industry figure and company chairman Don Sharp.

The former co-founder of financial advice business Bridges Financial Services Pty Ltd and former chairman of fund manager Investors Mutual Limited, Mr Sharp, said the greatest innovations over several decades have not come from within the industry.

“They have been imposed from Government,” he said.

“Ours is a reactive industry, prone to the continual winds of political and policy change from Canberra,” Mr Sharp said.

“Against this constant legislative and regulatory buffering, it remains challenging for the industry to properly invest and develop true innovation that drives stable, long-term positive change for the end consumer and the economy.”

Mr Sharp praised the level of effort being mounted by the fledgling financial technology (FinTech) sector and the assistance of the corporate regulator ASIC in providing ‘sandbox’ relief to start-up digital technologies.

“These are positive measures. But my hesitation with endorsing most endeavours is in knowing what it takes from a financial and personal point of view to take a good idea, develop it into a business and then deliver a sustainable, long-term commercial proposition in a changing market.

“The task of building a successful business is challenging at the best of times, but add legislative change and it becomes almost impossible.

“Even today, having finalised the federal election result in Australia, we see lingering political uncertainty over the Coalition Government’s superannuation taxation policy. Our industry is obligated to meet whatever shifts are made by Government – and fund a response to those shifts – whilst also minimising downside risk to the customer or fund member,” he said.

Mr Sharp said the upcoming New Payments Platform, an initiative of the Reserve Bank of Australia to influence real-time payments in the banking sector, is another example of disruptive regulation.

The Australian Taxation Office has also slated changes in 2017 to the payment of Australian wages, called the Single Touch Payroll (STP) initiative.

STP also has the potential for profound impact on the superannuation sector, as the way wages are paid from July 1 next year becomes more efficient and transparent, with flow-on effects for the payment of Superannuation Guarantee payments.

“My advice to the FinTech entrepreneurs is to build for known regulatory events, and remain flexible enough to accommodate the inevitable rollercoaster of ongoing regulatory change.

“I also implore the policy makers to cast their gaze at longer horizons, avoiding the short-term fix mentality that has largely characterised the oversight of the financial services industry,” he said

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