How to pay council rates, insurance and utilities by credit card and earn points

Can I pay council rates with a credit card and earn points?

Short answer: Yes. Add your council as a biller in B2Bpay using the BPAY details on your rates notice, pay by Visa, Mastercard or American Express, and the council receives a BPAY payment. Your card earns full points because the charge is a purchase from B2Bpay, and Earn Plus or Earn Max adds B2B Points.

Council rates are a classic case of a bill that is hard to earn on. Paid directly by card, many rewards programs treat the payment as a government payment and reduce or exclude points. Paid from your bank account, it earns nothing. Through B2Bpay the council still gets paid the way it expects, and your card issuer sees an ordinary purchase.

The same logic applies to water, insurance, electricity, gas and telco bills, which is why B2Bpay lists ATO, government, telco, insurance and utility payments among the core things businesses put through it. See paying suppliers who don't accept cards for the general mechanism.

Do councils charge extra for paying by card?

Since 1 October 2026, billers cannot add a charge for paying by debit or credit card on the major networks, following the Reserve Bank's changes, so direct card payments to councils should not carry an extra card charge. The issue with paying councils directly is not cost but points: many cards earn reduced or no points on government payments.

Through B2Bpay you pay B2Bpay's platform fee, which is a fee for the bill payment service and applies whichever way you pay. In return your card earns at its everyday rate and you can add B2B Points. Whether that trade is worthwhile depends on your card and the size of the bill; the points calculator will tell you.

For the detail of the Reserve Bank's changes, read the RBA's own materials at rba.gov.au; B2Bpay does not give legal advice on how the rules apply to fees you charge your own customers.

Can I pay business insurance premiums by credit card for points?

Yes. Insurance is one of the better-value bills to put through B2Bpay: premiums are large, annual or monthly, and many insurers and brokers invoice for bank transfer or BPAY. Add the insurer or broker as a biller, pay by card, and they receive the payment as usual.

Since 1 October 2026 some payment platforms used by insurance brokers stopped accepting cards, which took the card option away from businesses that had been using it. B2Bpay restores it, because it does not rely on the broker's platform accepting cards.

Policies you can typically pay this way include public liability, professional indemnity, business pack, commercial motor, building and contents, and cyber. Workers compensation premiums depend on the insurer or scheme; the team confirms. You keep your card's points, earn B2B Points on Earn Plus or Earn Max, and the premium sits on your card for up to 55 days before the cash leaves.

Can a business pay electricity, gas, water and telco bills by card and earn points?

Yes. Utility and telco bills carry BPAY details, so adding them as billers in B2Bpay takes a minute. Pay by card and the retailer receives a BPAY payment with your reference.

Many retailers accept cards directly, so the question is why use B2Bpay. Three reasons: your card may earn reduced points on utilities paid direct, some retailers do not accept American Express, and paying through B2Bpay earns B2B Points on top. If your retailer takes your card with full points and you do not want B2B Points, paying direct is fine.

For businesses with many sites or services, B2Bpay's bulk payments and the Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks integrations make the monthly utilities run a single task rather than a dozen logins. See paying bills from your accounting software.

What does it cost and earn on a typical bill?

The platform fee is a percentage of each payment, ex GST, shown before you confirm.

Take a $12,000 annual insurance premium paid by Visa on Earn Max: fee $300 ex GST, 12,000 B2B Points (convertible to 12,000 Qantas or Velocity Points), plus your card's own points, with the $12,000 staying in your account for up to 55 days. On Essential the fee is $132 and you earn the card's points only.

The fee is generally a business expense; confirm with your accountant. See fees, GST and tax deductions for the detail.

Can I prepay rates, insurance and utilities before EOFY on a credit card?

You can pay any bill the biller has issued at any time through B2Bpay, so paying an annual premium or a rates instalment in June rather than July is straightforward. Whether a prepayment is deductible in the current year is a tax question for your accountant, and depends on the prepayment rules that apply to your business.

From a cash flow point of view, paying a large bill in late June by card means the cash does not leave your account until the card statement is due, which may be well into the new financial year. That can suit a business that wants the expense in one year and the cash outflow in the next.

Schedule the payment in B2Bpay for the date you want, and allow a few business days for the biller to receive the funds. Our guide to 55 days interest-free covers timing.

Setting up your regular bills: a checklist

1. Gather your latest rates notice, insurance invoice and utility bills; you need the BPAY biller code and reference, or bank details, from each.
2. Register for B2Bpay with your ABN and add your card.
3. Add each biller. Many councils, insurers and retailers are already in the biller list; search by biller code.
4. Choose a plan: Essential for card points only, Earn Plus or Earn Max for B2B Points.
5. Pay or schedule each bill. Set scheduled payments just after your card statement date to maximise interest-free days while meeting due dates.
6. Connect Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks so every payment and fee is recorded automatically.

Questions about a particular biller: 1300 205 575 or the get started form.