Generic domain names just got a whole lot more valuable, and here’s why…
Four years in the making, the New Payments Platform (NPP) went live in February this year. One of its features is the ability of business and consumers alike to choose a ‘PayID’, ie. an identifier other than BSB and account number, to receive payments. “Forget about your BSB and account number”, people are being told.
What is a PayID? “Your PayID is information unique to you, like your phone number, email or ABN, that can be securely linked to your nominated bank account.”
While most consumers will end up using either their phone number or email address to receive payments from friends etc, the best option by far for business will be to use their email address as an identifier. This is because email is already used in so many facets of day-to-day business activity. The added benefit of course is that a well-chosen email address can reinforce the name and identity of a business, whereas a phone number usually does not.
pay@deliver.com.au– Coming Soon?
Let’s use the example of a random well-known business, Deliver.com.au. As a national distribution company, it’s fair to guess that Deliver.com.au doesn’t run every transaction through a POS machine –ie. bank transfer payments are probably quite common. Many payments, many payers.Thus a PayID like pay@deliver.com.au would make perfect sense, and would be much easier to communicate and remember than a BSB and account number.
Generic domain names shine
Since email will undoubtedly become the payment identifier of choice for business, the most critical part of the email address – the domain name – just became even more important. Imagine if Deliver Group Pty Ltd didn’t have Deliver.com.au but had only DeliverGroup.com.au. What a mouthful. What would they do if someone else had Deliver.com.au? What if that somebody else happened to run their own PayID under pay@deliver.com.au? Oops.
This is why it is crucial for business owners to act sooner rather than later when it comes to getting the best domain name for their business.
Domain names are entrenched in the fabric of commerce worldwide. They are not going anywhere and as the PayID initiative shows, they are actually becoming more and more important with every year that passes.
By Steve
Great article.