The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has launched an online foreign exchange service designed specifically for small to medium sized businesses.
CBA says the Internet-based payments service is designed to streamline currency exchanges and payments for business customers.
Commenting on the system, Craig Keary, general manager, new business development, CBA, says: "The intention was to customise a product which would streamline foreign currency payments with accurate record keeping, provide online settlement with standard settlement instruction templates and facilitate easy exporting of data.
"Settling transactions is straightforward with a choice of flexible options including BPay, Direct Debit and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). And you do not need a Commonwealth Bank Account to use the service."
Keary says businesses will be able to buy and sell foreign currency "at the click of a mouse", with live foreign exchange rates displayed on computer screens.
"Businesses can book online when the rate suits them," he says. "They will have the option to transact online in both spot and forward transactions."
Users will be provided with a unique profile and have their own ID and password. CBA says all information transmitted to and from the bank is encrypted and different access and authorisation levels can be assigned to people in the business to match payment authorisation requirements.