Media releases

Introducing Presto: new payments technology to help level the playing field for small business

3 April, 2018

Westpac is helping to make fast over-the-counter payments and reconciliation more accessible to Australian businesses through the launch of a new integrated payments solution that streamlines the in-store payments experience.

David Lindberg, Chief Executive of the Business Bank at Westpac, said that while larger Australian businesses have used bespoke point of sale (POS) system integration for some time, fewer small businesses are benefitting from streamlined payments technology.

“Rapid innovations in payments technology have fundamentally changed how consumers interact with businesses but for the opposite side of the counter, numerous payment streams are creating new complications for business such as extended settlement times, multiple system management, and harder-to-reconcile payments,” Mr Lindberg said.

Through its collaboration with one of the world's most flexible payment platforms¹, Assembly Payments, Westpac’s vision for Presto is to help businesses overcome these challenges by creating the most advanced and sophisticated payments solution in the market. It intends to introduce a range of new capabilities through Presto over the next 18-24 months, including multi-channel payment capabilities that let businesses view, settle and reconcile transactions across instore, online and app payments on the one platform.

“Our goal is to help to make Australian businesses stronger and we are focusing on providing holistic, professional banking solutions like Presto, and industry-specific solutions like Xplor for Schools, that drive the productivity and profitability of businesses,” Mr Lindberg said.

Westpac will be the only major Australian bank to offer Presto’s initial instore capability through Assembly Payments. Presto automatically shares transaction information between a range of point-of-sale (POS) systems² and a merchant terminal (In Store Capability) saving businesses significant time in re-keying transactions.

Removing the need to re-key transactions has significant advantages and flow-on benefits for businesses, including the potential to reduce customer waiting times, increase staff productivity, and achieve more accurate end-of-day reporting and reconciliation.

Simon Lee, Chief Executive Officer at Assembly Payments, said Presto is a reliable, flexible and tailored solution which is suitable for a range of businesses.

“Presto is about building better experiences and better businesses. We live and breathe this vision at Assembly, and our core focus on disruptive, fast growing businesses.

“We're really excited at the prospects of being able to extend our services to a huge variety of business owners through this flexible and scalable technology which we believe will provide better customer experiences, better insight, and more functional ways for businesses to improve sales,” Mr Lee said.

Customers can request information and register their interest for Presto now, with the In Store Capability³ available from mid-April 2018.

Additional information

The other benefits of Presto’s first instore capability include:

• Take payments anywhere in store: Presto allows businesses to take secure payments anywhere in-store so customers can pay at the counter, on the sales floor or at the table, split the bill with ease (POS dependent) and make tap and go, insert, or swipe payments on the one device.
• Fast payments, simple reconciliation and Westpac’s Instant settlement^4:Streamlined payment processes with no manual typing of payment amounts in to your merchant facility helps with fuss free end-of-day reconciliation and immediate access to funds with instant settlement.
  • For example, if a busy metropolitan café completes 1200 orders a day and Presto saves the business 3 seconds in rekeying each card transaction, this equates to approximately one hour of valuable time saved, which can be spent on more important aspects like speaking with customers and growing the business.
    
• Easy to set up, easy to use: Presto is easy to set up and intuitive for businesses to use. A number of POS providers will be compatible with Presto at launch with more added in the future.
• Stable and supported: Certain Presto Smart terminals will automatically switch over to 3G⁵ if a business’s main communication method drop out to avoid missing a sale. Businesses also have access to 24/7, Australian-based technical support.

About Assembly Payments

Assembly Payments is one of Australia's fastest growing fin-tech companies. Launched in 2014, it is used by leading marketplaces such as Gumtree, Carsales and Airtasker. In late 2017 it passed 100 staff and has raised $US30 million from leading venture funds. Originally created as an end-to-end payment and escrow solution for online marketplaces and platforms, the company has grown to a point where it now also powers solutions for disruptive financial institutions, including Westpac.

¹ Information sourced from https://assemblypayments.com/company/about/

² The POS solutions are supplied by POS Providers, not Westpac.  Westpac does not guarantee or endorse those products and any related services.

³ Applications for merchant services are subject to approval. Terms and conditions and fees and charges apply and are available on request. It is a requirement for Presto Smart that you obtain a new terminal and hold and settle into a relevant Westpac Business Transaction Account in the same name as the merchant facility.  Terms and conditions, fees and charges apply in relation to the transaction account and are available at https://www.westpac.com.au/business-banking/bank-accounts/  This information does not take your personal objectives, circumstances or needs into account You should consider whether the product is suitable for you before proceeding.

⁵ 3G is only available on the Presto Smart - VX690 terminals