The new mobile banking app will allow business customers, both big and small, to check balances and transactions and transfer money between accounts anytime, and just about anywhere they are. The app is the first from a New Zealand bank available on both iPhone and Android platforms.

BNZ Head of Online Stephen Bowe says, "When we spoke with our business customers, every one of them told us that the most important thing to them is the ability to quickly check the balance of their accounts followed by their recent transactions.

We took that on board as a starting point, but this is just the beginning for our business customers."

BNZ has seen phenomenal growth in its mobile banking offering for personal customers, with total transactions now at $1.3 billion and mobile banking accounting for 33% of all logins to personal online banking channels. The bank is also seeing a growth of 6-10% month on month. With the new business app offering this is only set to increase.

As with its popular personal mobile banking app, the bank will frequently extend functionality in response to customer needs, usage and feedback. The bank will, this week, also increase the functionality of its personal mobile apps allowing customers to link their Trade Me account to Mobile Banking making paying for items purchased on Trade Me fast and easy.

BNZ has focused over the last 12-months on developing and utilising technology to make transactional banking faster, easier and more accessible for customers. Last year, BNZ launched New Zealand's first mobile banking application designed specifically for the Android platform and developed advanced Mobile NetGuard security technology.

"We see this as having a very positive impact for our business customers, says Bowe. Giving them the ability to check balances and transactions and transfer between accounts on the go means they have a level of freedom they didn't have before. For us at BNZ, it's about making the small, simple aspects of banking just that."