How Do Embedded Payments Work in BrightPay? Paying Employees Without a Bank File

Embedded payments let you pay employees directly from inside BrightPay once a pay period is finalised. The open banking services behind them are provided through Bright’s partnership with Crezco. There is no bank file to export and no separate banking login. You authorise the payment in your own banking app, and the payroll run and the payment happen in one place.

What does paying employees involve without embedded payments?

Running the numbers is rarely the hard part of payroll. Getting employees paid is. The standard process means logging into a separate banking portal, exporting a bank file from the cloud payroll software and uploading it. It is an extra step that takes time and leaves room for error, on top of tight processing windows.

How do embedded payments with Crezco work in BrightPay?

With embedded payments, you pay employees directly from within BrightPay. Crezco, Bright’s open banking partner, provides the open banking services behind the feature. You don’t switch between systems, and every payment is authorised through your own banking app so you stay in control. Same-day payments typically reach employee accounts within hours.

How do you set up embedded payments?

Setup is a one-time process. You register a bank account in BrightPay, then authorise the connection by scanning a QR code in your own banking app, in the same way you would approve any online payment. You can register more than one bank account if employees are paid from different accounts.

How do you make an embedded payments run?

1. Finalise the pay period in BrightPay.

2. Select Pay by Bank from the pay menu.

3. Choose the bank account to pay from.

4. Review the summary, then continue.

5. Send the payments immediately, or schedule them for a specific date.

6. Authorise the run in your banking app, in the same way as any online payment.

BrightPay then confirms the status of each payment. If you haven’t already sent the RTI submission to HMRC, that is the only step left. Scheduling is useful where different groups of staff are paid on different days.

Which banks support embedded payments?

Bulk embedded payments are supported by a range of UK banks, including Barclays Bank, Barclays Corporate, HSBC Business, Lloyds Business, NatWest Business, NatWest Bankline, RBS Business, RBS Bankline, Santander Business and Corporate, Ulster Bank and Bankline, Virgin Money and Revolut Business. Transaction limits vary by bank.

What if you have more employees than your bank’s limit allows?

Split the embedded payments run across more than one batch. Bank limits reset every 24 hours, so a larger payroll can be paid in stages. If your bank isn’t supported yet, you can keep paying by your existing method in the meantime.

Who can use embedded payments today?

Embedded payments are live for BrightPay’s employer customers. Log into BrightPay and go to Pay Employees to find them. For payroll bureaus and accountants, embedded payments aren’t available yet. They are in development and will be rolled out once they’re ready.

How should you test embedded payments before a full payroll run?

Run a test payment with a small number of employees first, and confirm everything works before moving a full payroll run across to embedded payments. If a payment doesn’t go through, an error message appears at the point of authentication and an email notification follows. The most common causes are incorrect employee bank details, a closed account, or a payment reaching a bank’s transaction limit.

Ready to see how BrightPay can revolutionise how you process payroll? Book a demo below to get started.

This content may have been developed with the assistance of AI tools. Content is reviewed by a member of the Bright team before publication. Guidance on legislation can be obtained from your industry body.