Secure Invoicing - Help pls.
I am now unable to send out Supplier invoices - MYOB is saying I need to upgrade to secure invoicing to email this invoice? I completed the upgrade steps days ago - only because I had to - now await...
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So MYOB rang me. I said I was not doing the verification (Xero aren't doing this). When I asked why it was being requested, the agent mumbled about the anti laundering laws. I said that's rubbish and he said goodbye.
They are a software company, not a bank. I think they have misinterpreted their legal obligations or something.
Our email from invoicing is still off - can they legally do that given we were paying for that feature through the regular subscription? I think not! I'll see what my lawyer says.
And we now get an email from MYOB increasing the annual subscription $9 a they month!
What planet is MYOB on?
Hi Greg_A and jenni , I definitely understand that the direct debit authority and rigorous verification could be confronting. You're also correct that we are not a bank, but invoicing is directly linked to banking payments and it is important that the security of invoicing is taken seriously.
Invoice fraud in particular is an ever increasing concern and we want to do everything possible to protect our customers, the consumers who receive invoices generated through MYOB software and MYOB itself.
By ensuring that customers using invoicing are a legitimate business, and going one step further to very ownership of the connected bank account, MYOB can work towards protecting businesses and consumers across Australia.
Once verification is complete and customers are entered into our 'Secure invoicing' workflow, a key additional benefit is the access to secure payments as well through our Online payments feature (this is where the direct debit authority is required). Because payments are a connected part of secure invoicing, we need this information up front, but as per our previous responses, this can be disabled by our customers anytime after completing the verification and upgrade process. Thanks, Mike
Thanks for explaining Mike, I do believe that there is a need for this in large corporations and businesses that send out payment links with invoices to recieve payment, should they wish to but I know many users like me just want the option of sending an invoice using a saved list of email addresses within MYOB and would happy for MYOB to say in the email header, "This email has not been verified by MYOB, please confirm sender is legitimate"
Hell one day if I do work for a big corporation I might have to do this but it will be my choice then.
Saving as PDF to email later is not an acceptable alternative and you know it, there is too much room for error, forgetting to send it, using the wrong email address and sending an invoice to the wrong person.
I started the process, handing over a lot of information only to be told that MYOB has found that I am involved in a trust and now want copies of all trust docs and want photo ID of me and my partner, then after that probably more. I just cant see why I need to get this deep into this "secure" platform where, if its found to be insecure, my whole Identity and business is laid bare for the highest bidder online.
When planning, this must have been discussed at a high level, pushback was expected and the decision was made to just railroad everyone into the scheme, offering a choice to save to pdf which is unacceptable.
I cant help but feel that MYOB has something to gain from this, perhaps a cut from each secure bank transaction?
MYOB will make a nice sum from all the online invoice payments made through these now secure invoices, and though we should all theoretically be able to switch that feature off, some businesses cannot because synching with some 3rd party software makes this election impossible. Many businesses will not switch it off, and they'll just add another insidious expense to their P&L.
There was no good reason for customers (us users) to have had "Allow Online Invoice Payments" switched on by default when completing the secure invoice upgrade. It should never have been bundled with this "upgrade", except that MYOB sees this as a great money-making ploy for them, which they have cloaked in a security blanket.
And yes, it is a LOT of sensitive info they want handed over. It is not inconceivable that MYOB one day is hacked into, same as Medibank, Optus, etc...
I had the same problem. The level of infomation they require for a business with a trust is outrageous. I reuse to provide such information to use this service and now dont have access to emailing invoices. No point in paying a monthly subscription to a company that doesnt allow for even the most basic feature so after discusions woth accountant im in the process of swithcing to xero.
Hi MikeG1 ,
I believe that the information MYOB are trying to obtain regarding our entity is available through our ABN which is registered with MYOB. Why is this not enough information? I am also uncomfortable giving sensative information to another outside company. I also understand that you need to verify that the bank account belongs to the business for payments to prevent money laundering - this should be simple and separate.
I don't understand why I need to give my authorisation to MYOB to direct debit charges for "online payment fees" when I do not intend to use online payments, including Credit card payments or BPAY. This is a different subject and nothing to do with security. We should have the ability to choose to opt in, rather than opt out of online payments and the related fees. I feel this is definatley a plot to increase MYOB profits, not to provide a better service.
Someone else mentioned that you could NOT select OPTING OUT of online payments as a DEFAULT and it had to be done for each and every invoice. Is this correct MikeG1 ?
They also mentioned that it was retrospective for any current invoices raised and the 2% fee would be charged on those invoice payments too, even though sent out using the current process.
I finally got through to a MYOB representative today after 20 minutes (I tried last week but gave up after an hour) who directed me to call MYOB financial services team to handle my concerns. She advised me that the wait time to speak with someone there was 3+ hours!!! I had previously put in a service request 10 days ago, but no response. Apparently she has upgraded it, whatever that means.
Hi MikeG1
As others have stated, we do not require online payment facilities. We are a construction company and payments are always made via progress claims into trust accounts.
I am also concerned with the private and sensitive data that MYOB is collecting from all their users for something 90% of those users do not wish to use. What guarantee's do we have that once verified, MYOB will securely destroy that information? We don't want another 'Optus' episode where account holders details are hacked because MYOB elects to keep them rather than securely destroy them.
If we are not going to be able to continue our daily routines using MYOB, then we to will have to look at alternatives.
