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- Commonwealth Bank (CBA) launches a new line of payment terminal products ahead of the Christmas season as it challenges NAB’s spot as Australia’s leading business bank
- The new payment system, labelled the ‘Smart’ terminal, lets businesses plug into two network providers and Wi-Fi to keep business up and running during service outages
- Alongside challenging NAB for its business banking position, the new CBA tech also competes with US fintech giant Square’s card-ready and payment systems
- The launch of the Smart products lines up with the bank’s previously-announced plans to leverage its massive retail customer base to land merchant customers
- Shares in Commonwealth Bank were up 0.95 per cent and trading at $104.87 each at 1:17 pm AEDT
Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has launched a new line of payment terminal products ahead of the Christmas season as the big bank continues to challenge NAB’s spot as Australia’s leading business bank.
The new payment system, labelled the ‘Smart’ terminal, lets businesses plug into two network providers and Wi-Fi to keep business up and running during service outages.
At the same time, the merchant terminals allow businesses to offer split payments, add surcharges and tipping, and email receipts to customers. The system also offers tailored apps for sectors like health and hospitality, helping businesses customise their payment experience.
CBA is also launching a small card-reader alongside its Smart payment terminals.
Effectively, the new tech challenges US-based fintech giant Square’s dongle, which has swept through Australian businesses as an easy and effective way of receiving EFTPOS payments.
While the CBA tech offers similar services to the products already sold by Square, the launch of the Smart products lines up with CBA’s previously-announced plans to leverage its massive retail customer base to land merchant customers.
With the new suite of merchant products, Commonwealth Bank said its business services were now leading the pack in the Australian business banking market, according to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald.
CBA General Manager of Merchant Solution Karen Last said the company believed it was the leading business bank across the spectrum of products.
“We are laser-focused on meeting customer needs,” Ms Last said, according to SMH.
“We believe new customers will be attracted to that … We certainly think we are taking a leading position.”
This is despite NAB retaining the biggest share of the business banking market.
The launch of the new tech follows an announcement from Commonwealth Bank last month that it would be offering a flat 1.1 per cent merchant fee for all in-store card transactions — slightly below NAB’s 1.15 per cent fee.
This week, CBA Group Executive for Business Banking Mike Vacy-Lyle said the new payment solutions were designed for “businesses of the future”.
“Using the latest technology and customer feedback, we’re making payment solutions that are more intuitive, customisable and secure,” Mr Vacy-Lyle said.
“The Smart terminal will replace our Albert terminals, and among other things, offer businesses more in-built features to efficiently and seamlessly manage their day-to-day payments operations.”
He added that the tech will help businesses spend more time serving customers and less time working out payments.
The roll-out of CBA’s new Smart terminal kicks off on October 25.
Shares in Commonwealth Bank were up 0.95 per cent and trading at $104.87 each at 1:17 pm AEDT.
Shares in NAB were up 0.52 per cent to $28.80 at the same time.
