A delivery channel is the way a recipient receives their documents. When a recipient subscribes, they choose a channel, and that choice is recorded on the Subscription. A single recipient can hold more than one Subscription, for example both email and BPAY View.
Which channels your recipients can choose depends on what's enabled for your account. Your channels are set up during onboarding, see Getting started: Payreq Delivery for billers and mailers.
Payreq Mailbox
A Payreq subscription is created when the recipient registers for a Payreq account, which gives them a secure Payreq Mailbox: a central place to view, download, and keep their documents. It's the most self-service option. The recipient can manage their own preferences, add up to five email addresses to also receive documents as PDF attachments (these are visible to you in the subscription details and downloadable from the console), access past documents, and, where you enable it, pay directly from Payreq. A Mailbox can be an individual Mailbox, or a group (business) Mailbox that offers bulk tools for recipients handling documents in volume.
Email subscriptions
Documents are delivered to the recipient's nominated email address as a PDF attachment, without the recipient needing a Payreq Mailbox account. There are two email subscription types:
- FastForm email: the customer subscribes themselves through a simple Payreq-hosted registration page, usually reached from your website or a QR code on their bill. They enter a few details to identify their record (account number, name as it appears on the bill, email address, and an optional contact number). If the details match your Contact record, the Subscription is verified and approved automatically. One email address is supported, and the customer doesn't manage the Subscription after signing up.
- Manual email (also called a biller-created subscription): you create the Subscription yourself, using the Create subscription button in the console or a bulk Contact file, with no action needed from the customer. There is no email verification step, so take care to enter the correct address. One email address is supported. This is often used when you already hold the customer's details, or when you're moving customers from paper to digital without self-registration. See Creating a Subscription on behalf of a customer.
BPAY View
Bills are delivered to the recipient's online banking through BPAY View, where they can view and pay them.
Peppol eInvoicing
Invoices are delivered through the Peppol network to the recipient's accounting or eInvoicing system.
Comparing the email and Mailbox options
The three most common ways a recipient receives documents, the two email types and a Payreq Mailbox, differ mainly in who sets them up and how much control the recipient has:
| Manual email | FastForm email | Payreq (Mailbox) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Created by | You, via the console | Customer, via FastForm | Customer, via a Payreq account |
| Email verification | No | Yes | Yes |
| Smart Mailbox access | No | No | Yes |
| Email addresses supported | 1 | 1 | Up to 5 |
| Customer manages the subscription | No | No | Yes |
| Common use | You add an email manually | Customer fills in a hosted form | Customer wants Mailbox plus email |
Choosing a channel
Recipients choose their channel when they subscribe. The right choice depends on how they prefer to receive and manage their documents, and on which channels you offer. For how a Subscription is created and what happens next, see How are Subscriptions created?.
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