CBA last year launched a new device for taking in-store payments, but Mr Vacy-Lyle said the lender was focused on improving its checkout experience for e-commerce customers.
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E-commerce is where weve got work to do, Mr Vacy-Lyle said. Banks have traditionally only offered card payment options at checkout, and when you get to most checkouts now, theres up to 20 different options on how you can pay. We acknowledge that, and we basically dont want to stand in the way of our merchants receiving payment from whatever mechanism the customer wants to use to pay.
CBAs business bank posted 9 per cent profit growth to almost $1.5 billion in the latest half. It is the second-largest division in CBA behind its flagship retail bank.
CBA has been trying to knock National Australia Bank off its perch as the largest lender to small and medium businesses, and last weeks results showed CBA expanded its loan book 1.7 times faster than the industry average.
Mr Vacy-Lyle said it could continue to grow quickly, citing rising business confidence, and saying CBA would target sectors where it had historically been less active, such as wholesale trade, health care, manufacturing, and agriculture.
He reaffirmed CBAs generally bullish economic outlook and said businesses overall should cope with higher interest rates, citing their high cash balances and consumers high levels of saving. While bad debts were likely to rise from very low to more normal levels as interest rates increased, he did not expect a blowout in impaired loans.
I worry about a rapid rate increase, going from 10 basis points to 150 basis points in a short space of time will be detrimental to this economy, but it will be done responsibly, I have no doubt, he said. I think that overall, businesses will weather the storm.
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CBA targets e-commerce as it squares off against tech giants - Sydney Morning Herald
