Your bill payments questions answered
Learn more about online bill payments, how it works and where to get started with answers to our FAQs.
Overview
Who is Crezco?
Xero has partnered with Crezco to help streamline accounts payable, bringing bill management, payments and reconciliation together in Xero. Crezco is a trusted payments institution authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), providing open banking services in the UK.
What is open banking?
Open banking lets you securely share your financial data between your bank and a third-party service provider to make payments. It gives you more choice, as well as greater control over your data.
Does my bank or building society support open banking?
The number of banks and building societies in the UK that offer open banking is always growing.
Note: We recommend checking with your financial institution to see if open banking is supported, and if there are any banking rules or restrictions (Crezco website) on the type of account or payment limits that may apply. Many banks currently only offer bulk payments for corporate and business accounts
How does bill payments work?
You can securely pay bills online in 25+ currencies, directly from Xero. To get started, allow data sharing permissions with our trusted payments partner, Crezco, to enable open banking services and connect your bank account. Then choose the bills you want to pay, select direct bank transfer as the payment option, and authorise the payment. Payments are processed by Crezco using Faster Payments. For help making bill payments follow these steps.
I already use Crezco, will my data be available in Xero?
If you already use Crezco, your historical data will not be migrated from Crezco to Xero when you set up bill payments.
Note: To set up bill payments you will need to connect your bank account to Xero and submit your business details for verification by Crezco to enable international payments.
Pricing
Will there be a cost to pay bills?
Applicable payment fees are charged by Xero based on your usage, and depending on your plan are in addition to your Xero monthly subscription. All fees are in GBP and domestic bill payments exclude VAT unless otherwise specified. Xero reserves the right to change the cost of this service.
Domestic (GBP) bill payments:
- Pay £0.20 (excluding VAT) per bill payment when you select direct bank transfer as the payment method. The payment fee will be added to your total of your batch, and the sum payable with your bills (or, in the case of a scheduled payment, at the point in time when the bill is authenticated, rather than the future payment date). A bill payment means each individual bill that makes up a batch. E.g. for 7 bills the total processing fee is £1.40 (£0.20 x 7 bills).
- A set number of bill payments are included in the Xero Grow, Comprehensive and Ultimate pricing plan limits. Once you go over this number, there’s a per bill payment fee for any additional payments. The Xero Ignite plan doesn’t include a set number of bill payments, and instead has a fee per bill payment.
International bill payments:
- Save 50% on international payment fees for 30 days (limited offer until 15 May, 2025. Terms apply)
- After this date, pay 0.35% + bank transfer cost per bill payment
- Bank transfer costs may vary depending on the transfer type e.g. SWIFT or local.
- International bill payments are available on Xero plans with multi-currency.
Will my bank charge me a fee to use online bill payments?
Most same-day bank transfers are free using the Faster Payment Service (FPS), but we recommend checking with your financial institution to see if there are any additional fees associated.
Set up
Who can set up online bill payments?
Anyone with bank account access can set up online bill payments.
How do I set up bill payments?
Getting started is simple. To set up bill payments in Xero, simply connect your bank account, then the option to pay by direct bank transfer will be available as an additional payment method. To enable international payments you will then need to submit your business details for verification by Crezco.
How do I connect my bank?
Connecting Xero to your bank is simple (approx 1-2mins):
- Allow data sharing permissions with Crezco to enable open banking services
- Select your bank
- You will be redirected to your online banking to log in
- Select your bank account
- Confirm and complete
Note: You will need to log in to your online banking to complete the setup
Can I connect more than one bank account?
Yes. You can connect multiple bank accounts to Crezco from Xero, this allows you to provide alternative funding sources to pay from. You should also ensure they are adding as a Xero bank feed for reconciliation.
What information do I need to provide for verification by Crezco?
To set up international bill payments, you will need to provide information about your business, such as business name, address, industry, owner, etc. for verification by Crezco.
In some instances, Crezco may require additional supporting documents about your business. If this occurs, you will receive an email from Crezco. Crezco will advise the additional information you need to provide to meet their regulatory requirements.
Why does Crezco need this information?
Crezco is a payment institution that is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide open banking payment services in the United Kingdom, and therefore, needs to perform certain due diligence on its users to remain in line with its legal obligations and sponsoring financial institutions.
How long will it take for Crezco to verify my business details?
Depending on the structure of your business, this process can take up to 3 business days. Having photo ID on hand will help ensure accuracy and faster verification by Crezco.
What happens if my verification fails?
If there are any issues, Crezco will notify you via email, with details about how to appeal your case with Crezco.
Do I need a Crezco account for international payments?
No. When you set up international bill payments, Crezco will create a transit account in your name for your overseas payments.
How do I disconnect direct bank transfer as a payment option in Xero?
You can disconnect direct bank transfer from your organisation at any time. If you have set up international payments then you will also be disconnected from this service.
- In the Business menu, select Bills to pay.
- At the top, click Manage direct payment.
- Click Disconnect, then click Disconnect to confirm.
Using online bill payments
Who is responsible for processing my payments?
When you use online bill payments in Xero, those bill payments are processed by Crezco Limited and their network of foreign currency exchange partners. Crezco is a payment institution that is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution (Firm Reference Number 925173).
How do I use bill payments?
To pay suppliers using bill payments follow these simple steps:
- On bills awaiting payment, select the bills to pay and Make payment
- Select Direct bank transfer
- Select the account to Pay from and the Date
- Either request someone else to pay or Pay to proceed
- Follow the prompts to complete authorisation
What information do I need to make an international payment?
Depending on the currency and country you are paying into, you will need to provide your payee’s international bank account details such as IBAN, routing number and BIC/SWIFT code. The payee's details should be provided on the bill. You can edit payee details when making a payment. Always confirm all details are correct before making a payment.
What foreign currencies and/or countries can I make payments?
You can make payments in the following supported currencies:
- AUD - Australian Dollar
- CAD - Canadian Dollar
- CHF - Swiss Franc
- CZK - Czech Koruna
- DKK - Danish Krone
- EUR - Euro
- GBP - UK Sterling
- HKD - Hong Kong Dollar
- HUG - Hungarian Forint
- ILS - Israeli Shekel
- JPY - Japanese Yen
- KES - Kenyan Shilling
- KWD - Kuwaiti Dinar
- MXN - Mexican Peso
- NOK - Norwegian Krone
- NZD - New Zealand Dollar
- OMR - Omani Rial
- PLN - Polish Zloty
- QAR - Qatari Rial
- RON - Romanian Leu
- SAR - Saudi Riyal
- SEK - Swedish Krona
- SGD - Singapore Dollar
- THB - Thai Baht
- TRY - Turkish Lira
- UGX - Uganda Shilling
- USD - US Dollar
- ZAR - South African Rand
You can make international payments to 180+ supported countries. Refer to the list below for unsupported countries:
- Crimea Cuba
- Donetsk region of Ukraine
- Iran
- Kazakhstan
- Kherson region of Ukraine
- Libya
- Luhansk region of Ukraine
- Myanmar
- North Korea
- Russia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Venezuela
- Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine
How are exchange rates calculated? Foreign exchange (FX) rates are determined by supply and demand in the global foreign exchange market. Exchange rates are always quoted as a pair of currencies and fluctuate regularly. You can check rates on the Crezco currency converter.
Why are there payment fees and costs for international payments? When you exchange currencies (e.g. when traveling abroad, making international payments, or investing in foreign assets) you will typically encounter fees. These fees are charged by the provider facilitating the exchange and can vary significantly from bank to bank.
For bill payments, we work in partnership with Crezco to facilitate the payment and provide competitive fees which are made up of:
- Payment fee: is the rate charged as a direct fee for the currency exchange. This is a % of the total amount you are exchanging.
- Bank transfer cost: is the fixed cost of transferring the funds. The price varies depending on the transfer type - it will typically be via a local rail or SWIFT.
Are there limits on the amount of money I can pay per day?
All banks cap the amount you can transfer each day using the Faster Payments network. We recommend checking in with your bank or financial institution to better understand any limits.
How much can I pay in a single batch of bills?
The number of bills you can select to pay in a batch is limited to 200 bills per batch. However the amount that you can pay in a single batch (or group of batches processed in one day) will be dependent on the payment limits of your bank. For international payments the minimum amount you can exchange is £1, some banks impose a maximum amount and this may vary depending on the currency you want to pay. We recommend you check this with your bank.
Can I group bills to a single supplier?
You can group GBP bills to pay by payee in the Awaiting Payments screen, so each supplier receives a single payment and reference for a group of bills. There will not be any changes to your current reconciliation process or your sending remittance process. The batch payment will still show all of the bills that make up the batch and you can still send remittance for each bill individually to the supplier.
Can I schedule bills to be paid later?
You can schedule GBP bills to be paid at a future date. We recommend checking with your bank or financial institution to confirm if they support future-dating payments (Crezco website) and any limitations for how many days in advance you can schedule payments before paying bills in Xero. Scheduled bill payments will be charged at the point in time when the batch is authenticated, and not the future payment date. Note: International bill payments can not be scheduled due to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
Can I change or cancel a scheduled GBP payment?
Yes, but to change or cancel a scheduled payment you will need to log in to your bank or financial institution. Due to a limitation of open banking, modified scheduled payments will not be reflected in Xero. You may need to remove and redo the scheduled payment(s) in Xero once it has been changed via your bank or financial institution to ensure you can reconcile the bank statement.
Is there an approval workflow?
Yes, you can set up approval processes. Allow employees or your advisor to help prepare bills for payment, then they can request someone to pay and you will be notified to review and authorise the payments from your bank account.
Do I need to have my suppliers in Xero?
Before paying your bills, we recommend you add suppliers (and their bank account details) as Contacts in Xero. This way their details are in Xero when you go to pay them – avoiding the need to update Contacts during the payment flow.
How do I add suppliers in Xero?
Refer to Xero Central to learn how to add a new supplier as a Contact in Xero. New contacts are automatically added the first time you enter a bill in Xero. However, you’ll need to click into the supplier contact record (either from the bill or searching within your Contacts) to add information such as bank account details and an email address. For international payments you can edit payee details when making a payment such as IBAN and BIC/SWIFT code.
Do I need to add my payees in my online banking prior to making a payment?
Yes. If Confirmation of Payee (COP) is enabled by your bank or building society account, ensure the payee name in Xero matches the name held on the account, otherwise the payment may not be successful. You’ll also need to add Xero as a trusted beneficiary in your bank or building society account as a payee. For international payments, you will need to check the payee details including address, international bank account number and the type of account (individual or organisation) when you are preparing your payment.
- Santander, Natwest or RBS: we recommend adding your payee details such as account number, sort code, account name, a reference and the type of account (personal or business) to your online banking contacts.
- HSBCnet or HSBC Corporate: we recommend setting up BACS permissions in your online banking. To do this, simply login to your HSBC Online Banking and follow the prompts to add BACS payments.
Will I be able to send remittance advice?
Yes, you can still send remittance advice from a paid bill or from a bank account.
What will my supplier see on their bank statement when I make a payment?
For all payments processed from Xero, suppliers will see the name of your account (your business name) displayed on their bank statement. This will ensure your suppliers know that you’ve made a payment to their account. To ensure the right reference number is passed through to your supplier’s bank account for the bill payment, use the ‘Payee reference’ to enter the invoice/bill reference number provided by your supplier.
How do I see the status of my payments?
You can view the Manage bill payments page in Xero to check the status of payments, and see an overview of all bill payments made using online bill payments.
If any of your bill payments fail, you will receive an email notification with a link to view the status. You can also review the bank account transactions in Xero.
When will my supplier get paid?
Payments are processed by Crezco using open banking, which if successful means funds for GBP payments can be available to the recipient almost immediately.
Note: International payments typically take longer to process and will depend on the transfer type and payment cut-off times. The estimated arrival time will be displayed when you authenticate and pay.
How quickly will I see the statement line in Xero?
Once the payment has been authorised, it will be available to view in Xero under Accounting > Account Transactions. The availability of the bank statement line to match and reconcile the bill payment will depend on the timing of the feed from your selected bank account.
Can I reverse a bill payment?
You will need to contact your bank or financial institution if you need to cancel or reverse a payment.
One or more of my payments have failed. Why has this happened?
If there is an issue with a payment, Xero will display an error message (at the time the payment has been authenticated). You will also receive an email notification. The most common cause of failed payments is insufficient funds, please ensure you have reviewed the daily limits for your bank account and are aware of any banking rules (Crezco website) before paying bills in Xero.
International payments have the option to be ‘Reversed’. This refers to the process of returning funds to the sender after an FX transaction has been ‘Sent’. This can happen for various reasons, including the stage of the payment, the transfer type, and the policies of the involved financial institutions. There may be a cost associated with the reversal of funds. If your payment is reversed you will be contacted by Crezco to discuss the reversal process and provide details.
Can I pay GBP and foreign currency bills in the same batch?
At this stage, you can not make payments GBP and foreign currency bills at the same time. You can combine multiple foreign currencies into the same batch e.g. EUR, USD and AUD can all be paid in the same batch payment.
Can I make other payments such as payroll and expenses?
At this stage, you can only use bill payments to pay supplier bills.
Can I still use payment files?
Yes. Online bill payments is an additional alternative bill payment option. If you prefer, you can continue to manually pay bills using payment files.
Partners
Can I use this feature on behalf of my clients?
Yes, you can pay bills with multiple people. As an accountant or bookkeeper, prepare and submit bills for payment, then request someone to pay and handover to your client for review, and to authorize the payments from their bank account.
Can I use bill payments for my own Practice?
Yes, you can set up bill payments in Xero for your own practice.
Security and Access
How do I know open banking is safe?
Open banking uses rigorously tested software and security systems. You’ll never be asked to provide access to your bank login details or password to anyone other than your own bank or building society. Only third party apps and websites provided by companies which are regulated by the FCA or European equivalent can enrol in the open banking Directory. You choose when, and for how long, you give access to your data.
Will I be able to authenticate my payments?
Yes, security checks, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) will be enabled by your bank or building society account to prove it is you making the payment.
Note: If your bank is unable to process bulk payments you will be asked to authenticate for each individual payment in a batch. We recommend checking for any banking rules (Crezco website) before paying bills in Xero.
What if there are multiple signatories on my bank account?
If your bank account has dual signatories, you can prepare and make the payment but the status will show as 'Processing' until all signatories have authenticated the payment from their banking app or online banking.
All signatories on the account will need notifications turned on in their internet banking to ensure they are aware that they need to authenticate the payment. Once they approve the payment, the payment status in Xero will change to 'Sent'.
Is my money and data secure?
We’re committed to the security of your data and provide multiple layers of protection for the personal and financial information you trust to Xero. You can read more about the measures we take to protect and secure data on our security page. Our privacy notice also sets out how we process your own personal data that you enter into Xero – like your name and email address.