Transfers of accounts (receivables) are security interests under the PPSA and must be registered, even though they may not secure any obligations. Transfers of accounts are “deemed” security interests under the PPSA1.
Grantors of security interests over accounts (often sellers of accounts), and underlying account debtors (the parties to the contract under which the account is generated), appear to have an ability to amend or substitute the contract terms, provided (A) they act honestly and in a commercially reasonable manner, and (B) the changes or substitution does not materially adversely affect the interests of the secured party2. This gives sellers of accounts some flexibility to amend their supply terms to accommodate specific customer requests without going back for consent to the secured party. This is a very practical, and commercially sensible, change implemented by the PPSA.
Invoice financiers (secured parties over accounts) will be able to protect themselves from PMSIs attaching to accounts (as proceeds) they buy where the accounts are future accounts to be generated from sales of inventory, if they give notice in a prescribed form to secured parties over the inventory, notifying them that they will buy future accounts generated from sales of the inventory3.
The invoice finance sector in Australia has a small patch preserved for its operation. See Chapter 25 (Transfers of accounts and invoice finance (factoring)) for discussion.