Woolworths will start moving payments on to Australia’s real-time payments system as a cheaper alternative to the card networks controlled by Visa and Mastercard, a move it says will reduce fraud while driving customers to its digital wallet and rewards program.

The supermarket has become the first major company to offer customers an option to link their bank account directly to its app, using PayTo functionality introduced by Australia’s new payments platform. The real-time infrastructure has been built by the banks and is operated by Australian Payments Plus.