eInvoicing is the electronic exchange of structured invoice-related data between a sender and receiver. The electronic invoice can be interpreted by machines, enabling automated processing of invoices. This creates significant efficiencies for both senders and receivers.
The Department of Treasury has estimated that eInvoicing could save the Australian economy $30 billion over ten years, and last year the federal government announced its intention to adopt the PEPPOL framework for the rollout of eInvoicing into the market.
The NPP could be used to enhance this opportunity further by integrating payments into the eInvoicing process. A whitepaper written by NPP Australia, in collaboration with digital transactions consultancy INNOPAY linked below, explains two ways the NPP could enable a seamless and more efficient ‘Procure to Pay’ experience.
The first is to use the data capabilities of the NPP to incorporate additional invoice related data elements into an NPP payment message. To this end, NPP Australia is developing message usage guidelines for enriching the NPP payment message with PEPPOL eInvoice data.
The second potential area for enabling efficiency is the automated processing of payments via pre-authorised payment arrangements or ‘mandates’. NPPA is currently developing capability, referred to as the ‘Mandated Payments Service’ (and described in the NPP Roadmap here), which will enable third party payment initiation on the NPP. Governed by a rules framework, the bank account holder can authorise payments to be made from their bank account with the creation of a digital payment arrangement or a ‘mandate’ in advance of those payments being processed.
To find out more about eInvoicing, including learnings from overseas, download the eInvoicing and the New Payments Platform whitepaper here.