ANZ has formed an alliance with
Internet technology developer MultiEmedia, which will see the bank take
a 15 percent stake in the company with the option to expand during the
three year term of the deal.
Under the agreement, MultiEmedia will host ANZ BizSite, the Web creation
service for ANZ’s small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) customer base.
In return, ANZ will have exclusive access to MultiEmedia’s technology in
the Australian and New Zealand financial services sector.
ANZ’s managing director of personal e-commerce, Satyendra Chelvendra,
said the deal with the MultiEmedia, which also provides a range of
consulting services and development tools for SMEs, would allow the bank to
expand its share of online small business customers.
“This is an important alliance as it provides our small business
customers with a value added tool which complements our existing online
banking services,” said Chelvendra.
ANZ BizSite will allow small business customers to build their own Web
site with a step-by-step guide and an online help facility.
“The software is ideal for small to medium sized businesses; however, we
would see this product as the first of many we can offer ANZ customers, via
this relationship, to help support their Web based business strategies,”
said MultiEmedia chief executive officer, Ian McRae.