In a bid to convert more of its
customers to Internet banking, the ANZ
Bank has announced it will acquire 25 percent of free ISP Free Net Corp. and use its service
to provide access to selected customers.
Free Net currently has 30,000 registered users since starting last year. It
provides the service to these users and earns an income from offering
targetted advertising based on the demographic profiles of its user base.
ANZ will recommend Free Net to selected customers in Sydney and Melbourne
(the only cities where Free Net currently operates) prior to a phased
rolout across other cities.
As part of the alliance, Free Net will provide ANZ with an ability to grow
its market share of Internet customers, while ANZ will promote Free Net to
selected customers to speed up customer acquisition and increase
retention.
ANZ’s managing director of personal e-commerce, Mr Satyendra Chelvendra,
said the alliance was central to ANZ’s strategy to be a leading provider of
online financial services. Free Net CEO Mr Abbas Aly said the alliance is
part of its strategy to grow its numbers via affinity programs.
anz.com will market the Free Net service with its other online products
such as ANZ Internet Banking, which has more than150,000 registered users,
and its recently launched ANZ E*TRADE Online Investing
service. Completion of the acquisition is subject to the completion of
due diligence by ANZ.
