Telstra to charge for bill payments

Telstra will charge customers a $2.20 administration fee every time a bill is paid by mail or in person at a Telstra shop or Australia Post.

And the carrier said it will increase its credit card processing fee to 1 percent of the value of transactions for MasterCard, VISA and American Express payments and 2 percent for Diners Club payments, plus GST.

The only means by which customers will not incur a when they pay their bill is through direct debit and BPAY.

"All customers can pay bills for free [iTnews emphasis] from a savings or cheque account via one of Telstra's three direct debit options or via BPAY," the carrier said.

The changes come into effect on September 14.

Telstra aims to convince more customers to sign up to bill payment options that do not require the carrier to hire customer service staff.

"Every year we spend hundreds of millions of dollars on billing, which includes processing bill payments, paying third-party billing service providers, answering customers' questions about their bills and operating systems to support billing," said Telstra consumer executive director Jenny Young.

Customers that sign up to direct debit before September 14 when buying a Telstra fixed phone, mobile handset, BigPond wireless modem or home network gateway modem from a Telstra shop or reseller will get a $50 credit, provided they stay with direct debit for a year.

Telstra said its pensioner discount and disability program customers will be exemptied from the fees.

Customers with pensioner cards, Australian Government health-care cards or those paying at Centrelink or the Telstra bill assistance program are also exempt.