How a Smart Payment Agreement Works

Businesses can safely stop micromanaging their recurring revenue and grow it instead, whilst payers can successfully start managing their automated payments.

Smart Payment Agreements make sure that every automated transaction carries enduring authority under the agreement before it is processed, and that both business and payer have access to a range of functions – all aimed at amping up the successful ongoing payments.

A Smart Payment Agreement metaphor with a watering can watering little plants growing money

Every Smart Payment Agreement™ is made up of 3 core elements

1

Strong Payer Authority

Strong Payer Authority is achieved by verifying and authenticating the payer, capturing and logging payment method consent and attaching that consent to explicit approval of the Agreement Structure.

Each Smart Payment Agreement has a unique Agreement Token – called a SPAID# which holds the Agreement Structure and Payer Authority

This ensures that enduring authority is linked to each transaction through the life of the agreement which protects the payer and the business from unexpected payments, mistaken payments, fraud and payment disputes.

Each SPAID# has its own dedicated digital Event Log or Agreement Timeline which captures the payer authority and all other events that occur over the agreement lifespan such as payment events, updates and payer-initiated actions.

Agreement Structure & Guardrails

2

The Agreement Structure acts as the guardrails for each payment that will occur throughout the life of the Smart Payment Agreement. No transaction that falls outside of the guardrails will be processed.

A Smart Payment Agreement uniquely considers each payment in isolation and within the context of previous events that have occurred during the lifetime of the Agreement– including accumulative value processed and failed payments or accrued arrears.

Each transaction can be traced back to Agreement Token (SPAID#) which holds the Agreement Structure and Payer Authority.

This protects payers from paying more than they agreed and businesses from disputed payments.

3

Agreement Settings & Functions

Businesses benefit from a range of process automations – including customer care, failed payment management and automated reporting and reconciliation. Businesses may also set 'rules' that allow payers to self-manage their SPAs.

Payers may access a range of functions to manage their SPAs and their finances – including managing their payment methods and, if the business rules allow, paying in advance, self-recovery of failed payments and selecting ideal payment days.

Smart Payment Agreements serve both businesses and their payers so that both parties can have a better experience and can rely on more successful payments.

These interactions are all logged on the SPA Event timeline.

ForBusiness Banks

The payer portal delivers transparency, self-management capabilities and an industry-leading customer experience.

  • Launch feature‑rich recurring payment products without rail‑specific complexity.
  • Reduce dispute volumes and liability exposure through agreement‑level consent.
  • Protect and grow recurring revenue across cards, PayTo and future rails.
  • Become the one‑stop payments partner for business customers.

Business Bank

Compound Noun

busi·ness bank | /ˈbɪz.nəs bæŋk/
  • A financial institution that provides banking, lending, payment, and treasury services designed to support businesses, commercial operations, and organisational growth.

ForBusinesses

Prioritise cash-flow and significantly reduce costs associated with recurring payment management.

  • Lower cost of accepting recurring payments.
  • Fewer disputes, less revenue loss.
  • One place to manage for all payment types.
  • Consistent payer experience regardless of payment method.
  • Deeply Smart features and automations to optimise cash flow and protect customer relationships.
  • Optimise payment success rates and reduce failed payment management impact.

Businesses

Noun

busi·ness·es | /ˈbɪz.nəs.ɪz/
  • The organisations focused on growth, operations, and revenue, while trying to keep payments flowing, customers happy, and finance asking fewer questions.

ForPayers

Customise Smart Payment Agreements for your needs and eliminate the need to micromanage payment processes.

  • Lower cost of accepting recurring payments.
  • Fewer disputes, less manual reconciliation.
  • One integration for all bank approved payment types.
  • Consistent payer experience regardless of payment method.

Payers

Noun

pay·ers | /ˈpeɪ.ərz/
  • The people who make recurring payments possible — approving agreements, expecting transparency, and occasionally wondering why seven subscriptions hit at once overnight.

ForRegulators & Industry

Paypa Plane maintains SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO27001 accreditation and meet even the most stringent of vendor due diligence requirements.

  • Preventative trust instead of retrospective remediation.
  • Interoperability without forcing system change.
  • Future-ready for oversight of agentic commerce.
  • New payment rail adoption acceleration.
  • Ensuring domestic payment regulatory settings can be equally applied to all participants.
  • Architecture built for future-facing ecosystems inclusive of all transaction types – from batch, to real-time, cards to digital currencies and tokens.

Regulators & Industry

Noun

reg·u·la·tors & in·dus·try | /ˈrɛɡ.jəˌleɪ.tərz ænd ˈɪn.də.stri/
  • The team dedicated to safeguarding the company’s operations and reputation by ensuring policies are followed, risks are minimised, and standards are met—without breaking a sweat (most of the time).

ForTechnologists

Built on our proprietary events-driven system, Smart Payment Agreements can be accessed via rich APIs or a fully serviced white-label platform.

  • Architecture engineered for scalability and resilience, meeting the diverse demands of a range of clients – including banks, listed companies and businesses.
  • Leveraging Azure's cloud infrastructure, we dynamically allocate resources to adapt to fluctuating demands, ensuring consistent performance and reliability.
  • For more information on the technical framework underpinning Paypa Plane’s Smart Payment Agreements platform, you can request a copy of our Technical Architecture Overview.

Technologists

Noun

tech·nol·o·gy | /tekˈnäləjē/
  • The department that turns ambitious ideas into reality, keeps the company’s digital world spinning, and gently reminds everyone that Wi-Fi doesn’t fix itself.

The inside info

Our Platform

Our architecture is engineered for scalability and resilience, meeting the diverse demands of a range of clients – including banks, listed companies and private enterprise.

Leveraging Azure's cloud infrastructure, we dynamically allocate resources to adapt to fluctuating demands, ensuring consistent performance and unwavering reliability.

For more information on the technical framework underpinning Paypa Plane’s Smart Payment Agreements platform, you can request a copy of our Technical Architecture Overview.