Side by side
Formbay vs Energy Merchants: a fair comparison
In short
Formbay describes itself as a certificate and compliance technology platform; Energy Merchants buys and settles certificates. They solve different problems, and Formbay's fees and payment times were not published on its site at the time of writing.
Formbay and Energy Merchants do not start from the same place, so a straight “which is better” answer would be unfair to both. Formbay describes itself as a technology platform for certificate creation and compliance. Energy Merchants is a certificate buyer: it pays installers for STCs, VEECs and battery STCs and settles them. This page lays out the difference and the questions that decide which suits a given business. Energy Merchants is our brand, so read the Energy Merchants column with that in mind and check it against what we tell you in writing.
Two different kinds of business
According to its website (2 Oct 2026), Formbay is “Australia’s AI-enabled renewable energy certificate and compliance technology platform”. It lists certificate creation and management, asset verification and lifecycle assurance, and says it connects retailers, installers and homeowners. It reports processing more than 140 million certificates since 2010 and has said it has entered an acquisition agreement with Xpansiv.
Energy Merchants buys certificates from installers and pays them on a published rate. Settlement is backed by REC Traders, which has traded since 2004 and is a Smart Energy Council member. Energy Merchants is the partner-facing brand, REC Traders provides the settlement behind it.
In practice an installer may use a platform to create certificates and still need a buyer to turn them into money. Whether Formbay’s service, a buyer, or both fit your workflow is a question for both parties. For the general categories, see what an STC aggregator is.
Side by side
The right column states only what Formbay says on its site. Blank answers are shown as not published.
| What to check | Energy Merchants | Formbay |
|---|---|---|
| When you are paid | 24-hour settlement for established partners; first claim 48-72 hours | Not published on its site at the time of writing; ask |
| Fees and deductions | Zero fees | Not published on its site at the time of writing; ask |
| Rate | Published daily, locked on lodgement of a complete claim | Not published on its site at the time of writing; ask |
| Who checks the claim | Compliance desk pre-checks every claim | Ask who reviews photos, forms and serials; not covered in what we read |
| Who you deal with | Named account manager | Ask; not covered in what we read |
| Backing | REC Traders, trading since 2004, Smart Energy Council member | Ask who the buyer of the certificates is; not covered in what we read |
Where the comparison is genuinely useful
If your pain is admin and compliance. A platform that verifies serials and manages certificate creation can reduce paperwork. Formbay’s site says that is its focus. If that is your main need, ask what it covers for batteries, which carry extra photo and evidence rules since 1 March 2026 (see our battery submission guide).
If your pain is cash flow. Then payment date and net dollars per certificate matter most. At Energy Merchants that means 24-hour settlement for established partners (the first claim takes 48-72 hours while we verify your details), a rate published daily on /pricing/ and locked when a complete claim is lodged, and zero fees. Ask any provider, Formbay included, for the equivalent in writing.
If your pain is claims bouncing. Ask who looks at the claim before it is lodged. Our compliance desk pre-checks every claim, which does not mean a claim cannot be rejected, only that we catch problems before they cost you time. The commonest causes are listed in top STC claim rejection reasons.
What we cannot tell you
We cannot tell you what Formbay charges, how quickly it pays, or how its support works, because it does not publish those on the pages we read and we will not guess. Nor can we tell you how it treats a particular installer. Ask it. We would want the same courtesy if someone were writing about us, which is why every claim in the Energy Merchants column is one we stand behind in writing.
Can you use both?
Possibly. Many installers separate “who creates the certificate” from “who buys it”. If you stay with a platform for creation and want a buyer, ask both providers how the hand-off works and who is the registered agent on each claim. The how it works page shows our side of that hand-off, and the switch page covers moving existing work.
Next steps
Send both providers the same six questions from the table, then compare the replies side by side. If you want to see our answers, check today’s rate or start trading. Our certificate trader checklist has the long version of the questions.
How we wrote this. Energy Merchants is a certificate trader, so we have a horse in this race. Statements about other providers are taken from their own public websites on the date shown above and are attributed. If something here is out of date, tell the desk and we will fix it.
Sources: Formbay website (homepage)
Questions
Before you decide
Is Formbay better than Energy Merchants?
Does Energy Merchants charge fees?
How fast does Energy Merchants pay?
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