In the latest mobile banking move from a major bank ANZ says, from later this year, it will launch ANZ FastPay, which will let merchants process payments using either iPhone or Android smartphones.
The bank said ANZ FastPay will allow small businesses to complete Visa and Mastercard credit and debit card transactions on the go "anytime, anywhere." Businesses will get flexibility to use the app for any period of time without being tied into a long-term contract.
“We recognise that our small business customers want to spend time making money not chasing payment," said Fred Ohlsson, ANZ's managing director of retail and business banking.
"ANZ FastPay is designed to offer them the easiest way to get paid on the job. Faster payment means better cashflow management. This is critical to the success of any small business," Ohlsson added. "From later this year, the ANZ FastPay iPhone app will be available for download from the New Zealand iTunes store and the Android version on Google Play."
The announcement comes after ANZ last month upgraded its goMoney app, aligning the app for iPhone and Android phones. At the same time it brought the curtain down on the National Bank iBank app. ANZ also launched Transactive Mobile apps for both Android and iPhone devices, which let commercial customers remotely monitor real-time account balances, view transactions, approve and release payments and obtain forex rates.
The other big banks have also been rolling out new mobile banking services.
ASB last week launched ASB Mobile Business, a business banking app for both iPhone and Android phones.
BNZ last month launched PayClip technology that allows businesses to use smartphones as mobile credit and debit card payment machines.
In July Westpac said customers could now apply and secure approval for a home loan within minutes via their mobile phone. Also in July, Westpac's general manager for customer strategy and experience Callum Wilson, told interest.co.nz Westpac aimed to unveil "potentially game changing changes in terms of the way mobile banking's done" by year's end.
The mobile banking developments from the big banks come with Roy Morgan Research recently predicting the number of New Zealanders with smartphones will rise by about 400,000, from 1.4 million, over the next six months.
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