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Answers to most commonly asked
questions about POLi Pay Online.
The following questions and answers provide information that addresses most
queries about POLi. If the information you're looking for is not covered here,
please see the POLi
Consumer Brochure for further details.
| 01. What is POLi and how does it work?
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| POLi is a web-based payment service that allows you to pay an online merchant
directly from your bank account via your Internet banking facility. Payment is
instantly debited from your account and the merchant is immediately notified
that the payment has occurred. A credit card is not required.
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| 02. Why should I use POLi? |
| POLi is perfect if you want to shop online but do not have a credit card or
prefer to pay direct from your bank account, for example to avoid interest or
surcharges payable on credit card transactions, to eliminate the feeling that
you're "paying twice" or to take advantage of a "cash discount" offered by an
online merchant.
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| 03. How do I know POLi is safe and
secure? |
| POLi uses the most advanced security features available on the Internet.
Although POLi invokes your Internet banking service, it does not access or
store your Internet banking identifier or password - these are entered directly
into your Internet banking log on screen using the usual security provided by
your bank.
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| 04. Where can I shop with POLi?
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| You can use POLi on any website that displays the POLi logo. Simply select POLi
as your payment option, it calls up your regular Internet banking "pay anyone"
screen and automatically fills in the merchant's payment details and the amount
of the purchase. Then you simply click "Pay" to pay with money that's in your
bank account.
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| 05. Do I need internet banking to use
POLi? |
| Yes. In order to use POLi, you need to have access to an Internet banking
service with one of the following banks:
| Australia |
New Zealand |
| - ANZ |
- ANZ NZ |
| - NAB |
- ASB |
| - Commonwealth |
- BNZ |
| - Westpac |
- Kiwi Bank |
| - Bank of Queensland |
- TSB Bank |
| - Bank West |
- Westpac NZ |
| - Suncorp Metway |
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| - St George |
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POLi uses the "Pay Anyone" or "3rd Party Payment" features of Internet banking,
so you must have this facility activated with enough money in your bank account
to cover the payments you intend to make. The payment amount must be less than
any "Pay Anyone" limits enforced by your Internet banking facility. You must
use Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser, version 6.0 or higher. The
first time you use POLi, you must download an ActiveX application to your
browser.
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| 06. Is POLi approved by my bank?
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| POLi is brought to you by Centricom Pty Ltd, an independent provider of
innovative web-based transaction services including online payments. Centricom
is not a bank, and does not necessarily have relationships with banks
accessible via POLi.
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| 07. How do I use POLi? |
When you are ready to make a payment on a merchant's website, select POLi and
the bank that holds your payment account.
If this is the first time you have used POLi on this PC then a window will
appear asking you to install the Centricom POLi Active X control application.
You do not have to install the ActiveX application, but if you do not, you will
not be able to proceed with the POLi payment. Do not install the ActiveX
application unless its name is "POLi Payment Online" and its publisher is
"Centricom Pty Ltd".
Once the ActiveX installation is complete, your bank's Internet banking log-in
page will appear in a new browser window. A POLi Help facility will appear in a
separate window below your Internet banking window to guide you through the
POLi transaction.
You then log-in to your Internet bank as normal, e.g. by entering your user id
and password. Your Internet banking log-in details are not captured or stored
by POLi.
Once logged in to your Internet banking system, POLi will automatically
navigate to the "Pay Anyone" screen and fill in the payment amount, the
merchant's payment account details and the merchant's reference number. POLi
will not allow you to change these details. If you have more than one account
with your bank, you must select the account from which you wish to pay. POLi
will allow you to specify your own "Pay Anyone" reference, which will appear in
the transaction narrative on your statement. All you then have to do is confirm
or cancel the payment, at which point your bank will check any limits that
might apply.
On completion of your POLi payment, the Internet banking window will close and
you will be returned to the merchant site, where a receipt page will be
displayed, containing amount paid, date and time stamp, an Internet banking
receipt and the merchant receipt. If you want a paper record of the
transaction, you can print out the receipt. Centricom Pty Ltd recommends you
print the receipt.
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| 08. Is there any cost for using POLi?
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| Centricom Pty Ltd does not charge you for making a POLi payment. Your bank will
charge whatever fee is ordinarily applied for using the "Pay Anyone" facility
within Internet banking. The merchant may charge a fee. There are no credit
card surcharges as POLi payments are direct from your own bank account.
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| 09. How are my bank account details kept
secure? |
Your bank account access information such as usernames and passwords are not
captured or stored by POLi or the merchant website. Your session occurs
directly between your PC and your bank in the same way as if you had logged
into your bank's Internet banking system separately from any POLi transaction.
POLi just automates the process of filling in all of the payment details for
you.
POLi may store your bank account number for audit and refund purposes. However,
no third party can access or operate your Internet banking facilities based on
this information, or any other information retained by POLi.
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| 10. My bank's terms and conditions say
that I am not allowed to disclose my password to any other
third party. Can I still use POLi? |
| Yes, you can still use POLi. Your bank account access information - such as
usernames and passwords - are not captured or stored by POLi or the merchant
website. You are not disclosing your password to any other third party.
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| 11. Does POLi or any third party get to
see my passwords at any time? |
| Your Internet banking user id and password is not captured or stored by POLi or
the merchant website.
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| 12. Does POLi or any third party get to
see my account number at any time? |
| POLi may store your bank account number for audit and refund purposes. No third
party can access or operate your Internet banking facilities based solely on
this information.
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| 13. What are the system requirements for
my computer to use POLi? |
| POLi requires Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, from version 6.0 onwards.
Other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox are not supported.
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| 14. I tried using POLi but it doesn't
work. Why? |
Here is a quick checklist to help you determine why POLi isn't working and what
you can do about it:
a. Browser: POLi only supports Microsoft's
Internet Explorer browsers, from version 6.0 onwards. Are you running a
compliant browser?
b. Pop-Ups: Internet Explorer must be set to
allow Pop-Ups. Set your Internet options to allow Pop-Ups or ask your system
administrator for assistance.
c. Active X Controls: Internet Explorer must
be set to allow ActiveX controls. Set your Internet options to allow ActiveX
controls or ask your system administrator for assistance.
d. Pay Anyone: POLi uses the "Pay Anyone" or
"3rd Party Payment" feature of Internet banking, so you must have this facility
activated with enough money in your bank account to cover the payments you
intend to make. Some banks require you to register for the use of this facility
so contact your bank to have the facility activated.
e. Internet Banking Site: If your Internet
banking site is down, POLi cannot be used. Check to see that your Internet
banking site is functioning normally by logging onto your bank site as you
would for a normal Internet banking session. If it is down, you will have to
wait until your bank restores the site before using POLi.
f. Daily Limits: The "Pay Anyone" or "3rd
Party Payment" feature of Internet banking typically limits the amount you can
pay on any given day. Are you trying to spend more than your limit? Check your
Internet banking terms and conditions for your limit settings and make sure you
only use POLi to pay amounts within your limit.
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| 15. I think I paid with POLi, but I
didn't receive a merchant receipt. What should I do?
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If you confirmed your POLi payment but did not receive a receipt (e.g. the
session is interrupted because of a problem with your Internet access), then
you will need to do the following:
a. Check with your Bank
Your bank's Internet banking system will have a recorded history of your recent
transactions. Log back into Internet banking and see if your bank has issued a
transaction record confirming that payment was sent to the merchant.
If your bank's Internet banking system shows a payment was made, you should
print out the Internet banking transaction record, as you may need to give some
of these details to the merchant. Proceed to step 'b', below.
If there is no transaction record for the transaction then the transaction was
interrupted before payment was actually made. Go back to the merchant site and
try to make the payment again.
b. Check with your merchant
When you contact your merchant, you should have your record of the transaction
in front of you. The merchant will ask you for some details from that
transaction record. The merchant will then have to check its own records to see
if it has a corresponding payment. If the merchant does have that payment in
its records, then you should ask the merchant for the receipt number. Then both
you and the merchant know that payment was made.
If the merchant does not have a record of a corresponding payment, then the
merchant will have to wait for a bank statement from their bank before they can
resolve the matter with you. Your merchant will explain the procedure from this
point.
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| 16. How long will it take for a payment
to go through? |
| The debit from your bank account occurs immediately. The merchant's website
will then complete the online transaction.
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| 17. What will appear on my bank account
statement? |
| The account statement will contain a numeric descriptor for the transaction.
This descriptor is generated by POLi for account reconciliation purposes.
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| 18. Why does POLi automatically sign me
out after 15 minutes?
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| A number of banks have automatic 'time-outs' on their Internet sites. This is
an added security feature (like password-protected screen-savers) to reduce the
risk of a third party accessing your bank account on your PC if you leave it
unattended. You should either CONFIRM or CANCEL your POLi transaction before
leaving your PC.
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| 19. What happens if POLi is attacked?
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| Hackers attempt to break into sites on the Internet with unfortunate
regularity. The POLi system contains security precautions to prevent such
attacks from succeeding. Your banking user id and password are not captured or
stored on the POLi system or the merchant's website. You should apply the same
security standards when using POLi as for Internet banking, and be aware of
your bank's terms and conditions and security precaution recommendations.
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| 20. Can I use POLi to make payments from
any PC? |
| You can use POLi from any PC running MS Windows and MS Internet Explorer 6.0 or
later. We do not encourage payments from PCs that you do not know to be secure
- such as Internet cafes or shared computers. We also strongly encourage the
use of anti-virus and firewall software to protect your PC.
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| 21. What happens if someone finds out my
online banking username and password? |
| You should immediately change your password at your Internet banking site and
follow the terms and conditions of your Internet banking site for securing such
information.
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22. What happens if I forget my
online banking login details?
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| You should contact your bank to recover any lost or forgotten online banking
login details and follow the terms and conditions of your Internet banking site
for retrieving and securing such information.
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POLi for Consumer
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Learn how you can start using POLi today to shop or pay bills online.
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