A newly-announced alliance between the Commonwealth Bank and online payment service provider eWAY could fast-track how merchants set up and manage their online payment infrastructure.

The agreement makes eWAY a reseller of Commonwealth Bank merchant facilities, and has already produced a full suite of offerings aimed at small, medium and large businesses seeking to start selling online as soon as possible.

Launched this week at the CeBIT technology fair in Sydney, the Commonwealth Bank Express Merchant Application removes the need for merchants to apply to both the bank and eWAY to establish Internet sales facilities.

“The Commonwealth Bank Express Merchant Application is a giant leap forward in how people do business online,” said Matt Bullock, chief executive officer of eWAY.

“The success of a merchant is not judged on whether they have signed up for an account -- it is based on their ability to be operational and start taking transactions.”

“Commonwealth Bank Express Merchant Application will allow merchants to become operational much faster, allowing them to start taking payments much sooner,” Bullock said.

While the Commonwealth Bank declined to discuss the exact terms and value of the alliance, Marketing and Communications Manager Bryan Fitzgerald expects the partnership to deliver a merchant onboarding process that allows clients to quickly capitalise on online potentials.

Fitzgerald explained that the bank views the Internet as an area of great business potential.

“The ecommerce and electronic banking space is really in its infancy and we expect significant growth in this area in the future,” he told iTnews.

“Customers expect to be able to access the accounts and be able to shop securely at the time that suits them,” he said. “Broadband helps bring that capability to them, and with advanced solutions from eWAY and the Commonwealth Bank the customer expectation is fulfilled.”