WestpacTrust is the New Zealand division of Westpac Banking Corporation, which is incorporated in New South Wales,
Australia
17 March 2000
WESTPACTRUST LAUNCHES ONLINE BANKING
WestpacTrust this week launched the pilot of its online banking service. Over the next six weeks, customers who have
pre-enrolled for the service will progressively be invited to participate in the pilot.
WestpacTrust chief executive Tom Gallagher said the introduction of online banking was part of WestpacTrust’s broader
long-term strategy to extend the range of banking alternatives and new online solutions offered to personal and business
customers.
“This service is an important step towards enabling customers to manage their money at any time, any place and from any
space,” said Mr Gallagher.
When the pilot is completed the service will be open to all WestpacTrust customers and has an easy sign-up process.
WestpacTrust Phone Banking customers will be able to access online banking using their existing customer ID number (and
then establish a separate password), while WestpacTrust customers not registered for Phone Banking will be able to call
us or contact their branch to receive a customer ID number and password. On first use of the site, customers will be
asked to create their own password. Non-WestpacTrust customers need to open a WestpacTrust account and this can normally
be set up within 24 hours.
WestpacTrust’s online banking offers all transactions that customers are currently able to complete over the phone.
These include bill payments, account balance checks, reviews of transactions, and money transfers. Customers should be
able to access their WestpacTrust accounts from any internet-capable PC in the world.
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WestpacTrust is the New Zealand division of Westpac Banking Corporation, which is incorporated in New South Wales,
Australia
The online banking service gives customers superior access to information using a powerful sorting function that applies
to all available accounts, credit cards and bill payments. The function means customers can look at all transactions
over the last twelve months and sort them by date, money amount, description, transaction type or serial number.
Customers can also create new payments to people who are not pre-registered as payees, as long as a payee has a New
Zealand bank account. This means WestpacTrust customers can make a payment to payees online – whether it is a one-off
payment or ongoing.
“WestpacTrust’s online banking was developed following extensive feedback from customers about their preferences for an
intuitive and easy-to-use website,” said Mr Gallagher. “Additional services will be introduced following feedback from
our customers on their emerging needs.”
WestpacTrust’s online banking site has a high standard of security. An independent review undertaken by Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu described it as `one of the best in its class’.
“WestpacTrust has demonstrated an extensive understanding of security issues at all business levels and we were
impressed by their commitment to building a secure, trusted environment for customers. They have clearly done the work
required to launch an internet banking service that their customers can trust,” said the head of Deloitte’s Enterprise
Risk Group, Ian Perry.
WestpacTrust’s online banking service is expected to go live to all WestpacTrust customers in late April. More than 8000
customers have already pre-enrolled for the pilot.
The banking industry is set to change dramatically over the next five years as the power increasingly shifts from
providers to customers, Mr Gallagher said.
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WestpacTrust is the New Zealand division of Westpac Banking Corporation, which is incorporated in New South Wales,
Australia
“Banks will need to offer intimate, customised money management solutions. WestpacTrust’s online banking is a platform
for developing these, offering faster and cheaper banking services to our personal and business customers.”
Mr Gallagher said that enhancements to the service, such as additional bill payment options, secure messaging and
interfaces with money management software packages, would be rolled out in the next few months.
ENDS
NOTE: Question and Answer sheet accompanies
For more information please contact:
Jane Anderson
WestpacTrust Public Relations Manager
04 498 1657
025 502 325
WestpacTrust is the New Zealand division of Westpac Banking Corporation, which is incorporated in New South Wales,
Australia
17 March 2000
WESTPACTRUST LAUNCHES ONLINE BANKING
Questions & Answers
1 What does the service provide?
While it has been primarily designed for personal customers, the service should allow all WestpacTrust customers – both
business and personal - to access their accounts from any internet-capable PC in the world, 24 hours a day and 7 days a
week. It’s easy to use and is another way for customers to do their banking.
Customers can:
get account balances
make transactions including transfers between accounts
make bill payments
access many other services, including transaction summaries and viewing current financial commitments.
initiate a home loan
2 What special features does WestpacTrust’s service have?
WestpacTrust’s service stands out from other banks because of two key features:
customers can create new payments to people who are not pre-registered as payees. This means that as long as a
customer has the payee’s bank account number and that bank account number is for a New Zealand bank, they can make
payment to them online – whether it is a one-off payment or ongoing.
WestpacTrust online banking has a powerful sorting function that allows customers to look at all transactions over the
last twelve months, and sort them by date, amount of transaction (whether debit or credit), description, transaction
type or serial number. This sorting ability applies to all accounts, credit cards and bill payments with WestpacTrust.
This gives our customers superior access to banking information that will help them with planning and budget management.
3 What about security online?
Our customers’ online security is our paramount concern. Our online banking site is highly secure and password
protected. It uses 128 bit encryption – the standard used by most banks in New Zealand and overseas. The password can be
changed by the customer at any time. An independent review carried out by Deloitte Touche Tomatsu described the service
as ‘one of the best in its class internationally’ for security.
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4 What does online banking cost?
The service is free, aside from the usual costs that apply to customers’ electronic transactions.
5 How do I join?
WestpacTrust customers who have pre-enrolled will begin participating in this first phase of online banking over the
next few weeks. We have already had significant interest from current customers who have pre-enrolled with us.The
service will go live for all our customers after the completion of the pilot at the end of April. Once it is live:
WestpacTrust Phone Banking customers can use their existing customer ID number to access online banking.
WestpacTrust customers who are not registered for Phone Banking can call us or contact their branch to be issued with
a customer ID number and password to give them access to online banking. Upon entering the site the only requirement is
to create a new password.
Those who are not WestpacTrust customers need to open an account with WestpacTrust before being issued with a customer
ID number for online banking and Internet password. The standard timeframe for opening an account is one day.
6 Can customers try out the service before using it?
Only those customers who have pre-enrolled will be invited to take part in the Pilot. But when our online banking
service goes live at the end of April, all our customers will be welcome to use the service.
At the very practical level, our website has been created to be intuitive and easy to use and uncluttered. We felt that
New Zealanders are technologically savvy people, known for their receptivity to technology and their ability to
understand it and pick it up quickly.
If anyone does need help, our phone service will be glad to provide it.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Peter Thornbury
WestpacTrust Public Relations Consultant
04 498 1990
025 278 8177
or
Jane Anderson
WestpacTrust Public Relations Manager
04 498 1657
025 502 325