Media releases
Making payments mobile for small business
27 February 2023
After a successful trial, Westpac has announced small businesses can apply for EFTPOS Air online, and once approved, be ready to take payments on their compatible Android phone or tablet in as little as a few hours.
“We are delighted to offer another secure, convenient, and fast payments solution for small businesses,” said Chris de Bruin, Westpac Chief Executive Consumer & Business Banking.
“We know many small business owners want greater flexibility and the technology to make contactless payments easier. EFTPOS Air will allow them to turn their phone or tablet into a payment terminal, so they can do business anywhere, anytime – without the need for traditional merchant terminals.
“One of our key differentiators with EFTPOS Air is our ability to onboard customers quickly and have them taking payments within hours.
“Over the last year we have been trialling the technology, receiving positive feedback from a range of business customers from delivery drivers to café and restaurant owners and even local mechanics,” said Mr de Bruin.
Westpac research has shown over 50 per cent of small to medium sized businesses believe accepting payments through their phone is a convenient way to operate. The survey of 500 businesses also revealed taking payments via an app would allow their staff more mobility.
“The launch of EFTPOS Air underpins our broader strategy to offer all business customers a range of payment solutions to support their needs. EFTPOS Air complements our existing suite of tools and technologies including our smart terminal EFTPOS Now fleet,” said Mr de Bruin.
EFTPOS Air uses Airpay TAP software from Australian payment technology provider Quest Payment Systems (Quest), which can be used with Android 10 mobile phones and above. EFTPOS Air can accept customer payments from Visa, Mastercard and eftpos cards, mobile wallets and wearables when a card or device is held over the compatible phone or tablet.
About EFTPOS Air
- Simple set up and digital onboarding experience
- Businesses can access money quickly with same day settlement into an eligible Westpac business transaction account, when settlement is performed directly after business day cut off time.
- Point of sale features, such as product menu and sales tracking to help businesses save time.
- Businesses can record cash transactions and let their customers split between cash and card for a seamless payment experience.
- Set automatic card surcharging to help recover transaction processing costs according to the payment method used.
About the research:
The research was commissioned by Westpac and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard. Lonergan Research surveyed 500 Australian SME Business Leaders with surveys distributed throughout Australia including both capital city and non-capital city areas. The survey was conducted online amongst members of a permission-based panel, between 14th December and 20th December 2022. After interviewing, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.