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Beyond Payments with Shabaas: How Real-Time Infrastructure is Transforming Small Australian Businesses

February 26, 2026
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Beyond Payments with Shabaas: How Real-Time Infrastructure is Transforming Small Australian Businesses

Small Australian businesses operate under constant pressure, with rising costs, tight cash flow and increasing expectations from customers. Yet many still rely on payment systems built for a different era: card rails with high fees or legacy bank processes that delay settlement and add friction.

Real-time payments represent a fundamental shift in how money moves. They enable instant settlement, improved cash-flow certainty and lower operational risk.

ShaBaas Pay was built to make this infrastructure accessible.

Designed specifically for small businesses, startups and incubator communities, ShaBaas Pay combines real-time payments with simple invoicing, flexible payment experiences and intuitive tools that require no technical expertise.

While payments are the foundation, ShaBaas Pay is more than a gateway – it is a platform built to help businesses get paid faster, operate more efficiently and grow with confidence.

The Small Business Payment Problem

For many small businesses, payments directly affect day-to-day viability.

Common challenges include:

  • Delayed settlement
  • High card processing costs
  • Manual invoicing and reconciliation
  • Disputes and chargebacks
  • Systems that are complex or time-consuming

When funds take days to arrive, cash flow becomes unpredictable, limiting growth and increasing stress for business owners.

Why Legacy Payment Methods Fall Short

Card payments

Cards remain widely used but introduce:

  • Percentage-based fees that increase with revenue
  • Chargebacks and dispute exposure
  • Settlement delays
  • Customer sensitivity to surcharges

For higher-value transactions, the financial and operational impact can be significant.

Legacy bank rails

Older payment systems were not designed for modern commerce. Batch processing, limited visibility and poor user experience create unnecessary friction. These methods no longer align with how businesses or customers expect payments to work.

The Rise of Real-Time Payments

Real-time payments allow funds to move instantly between bank accounts.

For businesses, this means:

  • Immediate access to funds
  • Improved liquidity
  • Reduced reliance on card networks
  • Greater payment certainty
  • Simpler reconciliation

However, infrastructure alone is not enough. To deliver real value, real-time payments must be easy to use and embedded into everyday workflows.

Introducing ShaBaas Pay

ShaBaas Pay is a payments and business platform built for Australian small businesses.

It provides access to real-time payment infrastructure through a simple, intuitive experience – without the complexity typically associated with financial systems. The platform is designed around how real businesses operate, not how financial institutions or developers build technology.

More Than a Payment Gateway

ShaBaas Pay goes beyond transaction processing.

  • Simple invoicing: Businesses can create invoices with secure payment links, enabling customers to pay instantly. ‍
  • Payment links and QR codes: One-time payment links and QR codes allow businesses to get paid quickly – in person or remotely. ‍
  • Flexible integration: Businesses can use ShaBaas Pay as a standalone portal or integrate payments directly into their website via APIs.

Solutions can be used independently or together, depending on business needs.

Built for Low-Tech Users — Ready for Growth

ShaBaas Pay is intentionally easy to use. No technical skills are required, making it suitable for:

  • Accountants and Book-keepers
  • Sole traders
  • Service-based businesses
  • Early-stage startups
  • Incubator and accelerator programs

As businesses grow, the platform scales with them, without requiring re-platforming or system replacement.

Lower Cost, Lower Risk

By shifting payments from cards to real-time account-to-account rails, businesses can:

  • Reduce transaction costs
  • Minimise surcharge conversations
  • Lower exposure to chargebacks and disputes
  • Improve cash-flow certainty

While chargebacks are particularly relevant for high average transaction values, all businesses benefit from faster settlement and greater control.

Supporting the Next Generation of Businesses

Early infrastructure decisions matter.

ShaBaas Pay supports founders and startup communities by providing modern payment capability from day one. This helps businesses operate professionally, manage cash flow effectively and scale with confidence.

Payments are no longer a back-office function. They sit at the centre of cash flow, customer experience and operational efficiency.

Real-time payments are redefining how businesses operate, and platforms like ShaBaas Pay make this transformation accessible to small Australian businesses.

By combining instant settlement with simple, flexible tools, ShaBaas Pay enables businesses to get paid faster, reduce friction and build stronger foundations for growth.

About ShaBaas Pay

ShaBaas Pay is an award winning Australian real time payments platform that enables businesses and platforms to accept instant bank to bank payments and operate with real time cashflow visibility. Built on Australia’s New Payments Platform, ShaBaas Pay provides hosted checkout, payment orchestration and API based integration to help organisations move from delayed settlement cycles to real time cashflow operations.

ShaBaas Pay has also been featured in leading fintech industry newsletters this month, highlighting growing market traction and increasing demand for real time payment capabilities.

For more information, visit: https://www.shabaas.com  

About Monoova

Monoova (www.monoova.com) is a leading Payment Service Provider (PSP) transforming the way businesses move money in Australia. Its API-driven platform integrates NPP, PayTo, PayID, Direct Debit, BPAY, and cross-border transfers into one seamless solution. By enabling businesses to automate and streamline transactions, enhance security, and transition effortlessly from legacy systems to real-time payments, Monoova empowers clients to scale with confidence and meet the demands of a modern payment landscape. Through its clients, Monoova facilitates transactions with up to 10% of all Australians. Monoova’s FSG/PDS is available at www.monoova.com/legal    

This white paper is issued by Monoova Payments Pty Limited (ACN 126 015 227 | AR No. 428863) trading as Monoova (Monoova). Monoova is the authorised representative of Monoova Global Payments Pty Ltd (ACN 106 249 852 | AFSL 421414) (Monoova Global), being the issuer of the Combined Financial Services Guide & Product Disclosure Statement Non-Cash Payment Products and Services (FSG/PDS). Copies of the FSG/PDS and the terms and conditions of the products and services offered by Monoova and Monoova Global (disclosure documents and terms) are available here or by contacting Monoova at support@monoova.com. You should consider the relevant disclosure documents and terms before deciding whether to acquire, or continue to hold, the relevant product or service. The information provided in this communication/document is factual information only, is given in summary form and does not purport to be complete. The information provided does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to these matters, and in particular, you should seek independent legal, financial and tax advice. The information is current as at the date of [23 January, 2026]. To the extent that the communication/document contains information sourced from third parties, statements made by third parties or provides link to third party websites, Monoova takes no responsibility for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of any information included in the material provided by or statements made by third parties nor for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of links or references to information sources (including internet sites) operated by third parties.

©Monoova

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