Jetstar is one of Australia’s biggest ecommerce businesses. Of the almost one million bookings it handles each month, some seventy per cent, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, are processed online. So when Jetstar recently announced it now offers POLi to its customers as a payment option, other Australian ecommerce businesses naturally asked whether they should be following Jetstar’s lead. Why, they asked, had Jetstar decided to offer POLi, before it began offering better-known online payment methods such as BPay or PayPal?

Jamie Perry, the Melbourne-based head of distribution & commercial systems at Jetstar, is the man who knows the answers.

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Our Community, a world-leading social enterprise that provides advice and tools for Australia’s 700,000 community groups and schools, has introduced POLi as a payment method to its donations acceptance page.

Previously, donors could only pay with a credit card, however the introduction of POLi adds the convenience and security of internet banking to allow donations to be made directly to the community group of their choice.

“The great news for our groups is that Centricom are providing POLi to us free of transaction fees,” said Denis Moriarty, Chief Operating Officer of Our Community. “This means our donors can now rest assured that 100% of their donation is going to go to their chosen community group, and not in part to the credit card companies.”

Mr Moriarty said his organisation was constantly looking for new and convenient ways for community groups to generate donations.

“The integration of POLi enables us to reach a broader market of donors, especially those people who don’t have a credit card, and those who would prefer not to use their cards online or to ensure 100% of the donation goes to the community group.”

The adoption of POLi™ by Our Community is a fantastic initiative, according to Simon Warner, CEO of Centricom.

“With the global credit crunch putting pressure on organisations such as Our Community, we are more than happy to play a part in giving back to the groups which they support.”

The POLi™ service is currently available to customers who bank with ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, Bank of Queensland, BankWest, St.George and Suncorp.

Australia’s low fares airline Jetstar has introduced POLi™ which facilitates real time payment for bookings made on Jetstar.com, the airline’s largest distribution channel, via internet banking.

Previously Jetstar customers could pay with a Visa or Mastercard debit card however the introduction of POLi™ adds the convenience and security of internet banking to allow payments to be made directly from debit funds accounts.

POLi™ is now available for all Australian customers with customers in New Zealand introduced to POLi™ by the end of the year.

Jetstar Chief Executive Officer Bruce Buchanan said the carrier was constantly looking for new tools to continue to refine the customer offering with greater convenience.

“Jetstar has always offered an alternative online banking payment option as well as a credit card for the direct retail purchase of its fares,” Mr Buchanan said.

“However its adoption makes sense to us as a large cross section of Australians don’t possess a credit card including up to 50 per cent under 24 years despite levels of regular internet banking activity now being very high.”

The adoption of POLi™ by Jetstar is a significant development for the innovative payment method, according to Simon Warner, CEO of Centricom.

“With a substantial and growing share of the domestic aviation market representing millions of passengers a year, most of whom pay online, Jetstar represents a major opportunity for the POLi™ brand to further establish itself as a mainstream payment type.”

The POLi™ service is currently available to customers who bank with ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, Bank of Queensland, BankWest, St.George and Suncorp.

Two days into the launch of the new POLi online payment system and it is proving an outstanding success, giving customers greater flexibility and choice when paying for their flights.

Air New Zealand has introduced the world leading online payment technology to enable its customers to pay for flights directly from their bank account. It can be used to book any flight, including same day travel.

Bruce Parton, Air New Zealand’s Group General Manager Short Haul Airline, says POLi is a great alternative for people without a credit card, or those who don’t wish to use them.

“In the current economic climate internet banking is a great payment option if you do not have a credit card, or would prefer not to add to your credit card balance.

“The process is quick, easy and safe. Customers simply select to pay by internet banking on the ticket purchase page, choose their bank from the list and follow the prompts provided by POLi and the customer’s electronic ticket is issued instantly once payment is complete.”

When using POLi to purchase flights everything is done within the security of the customers’ online banking facility and at no time is it required to disclose personal banking details to Air New Zealand.

Customers in New Zealand and Australia can now choose to use the payment option. Anyone who has access to the Pay Anyone functionality offered by a supported online banking facility can use POLi. Payment is instantly debited from your account and your booking will be confirmed - it's as easy as that.

Air New Zealand is the first airline in New Zealand and Australia to use the innovative technology. The provider of the technology is Centricom Pty Ltd, a Melbourne based online payments business.

Betfair, a global online betting exchange, unlike a corporate bookmaker, matches bets between customers who hold opposing views about the outcome of a particular sporting event. The service also allows more sophisticated wagers, such as betting that a particular outcome will not happen (known as 'laying'). Betfair players can choose the odds they wish to bet at while an event is in progress, and manage their position if the odds change.

Behind this flexibility is state-of-the-art computing technology, capable of processing a vast number of transactions at lightning speed. So when Betfair decided to establish a presence in the Australian wagering market, it sought an online payment system that could match its technology, without imposing a charge on customers that would deter them from using the service.

“In Australia, there are three major ways of moving money online, and none of them suited our business model. Firstly, credit cards offer instant transactions, but are expensive. The total cost to merchant and customer can be 3% of the transaction amount and there are issues around security.”

“The second option is bank transfers. These are cheap but can require overnight processing. If, for example, you wish to bet on the outcome of a football match while it is in progress, this method is entirely unsuitable. The third option includes systems such as PayPal. These are instant, but also expensive.”

According to Giles Thompson (CFO of Betfair Australia), POLi™ was the only product that offered the right combination of speed, low cost and security. “We were looking for a system that would fit our business and POLi met all our requirements. It provides instant transactions at a very low cost, and is simple to use.”

“Another major factor in choosing POLi was security. It is essential to Betfair that we provide customers with a high degree of comfort in this matter. Both the merchant and the customer must have confidence in the security of the payment system. If you can't offer this, you will be shunned by your customers.”

Mr Thompson said customer feedback to POLi had been very positive. “We are also finding we get a lot of repeat business from customers using POLi. This indicates that once they are accustomed to the system, they are showing a strong preference for it. This is not surprising, when you factor in the cost and security advantages.”

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