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A non-major lender is set to form a partnership with a digital payments provider to simplify access to payments for its small business customers.
Following the release of the Bank of Queensland’s (BOQ) financial results for the first half of 2018 (1H18), CEO and managing director John Sutton announced that it is set to partner with a digital payments provider as part of the lender’s strategy to expand its product offering.
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“We will expand our product offering with a focus on increasing deposit gathering. This includes the roll-out of an improved merchant capability and the launch of our partnership with a digital payments provider,” Mr Sutton said.
“These two products will make it easier for our SME customers to receive payments.”
The regional bank reported annualised commercial lending growth of 6 per cent, up by $277 million in 1H18 to $9.6 billion.
BOQ made particular reference to the growth of its SME lending platform, noting that its “SME strategy continued to evolve”.
The regional bank claimed that an uptake in volume via the “business banking sales channels” and “selected broker relationships” helped drive growth in its small business lending portfolio.
The lender also attributed the growth in its SME platform to “investment in the delivery of product and digital fulfilment capability”, which it claimed has “improved processes for customers”.
Additionally, BOQ noted that “ongoing investment in developing financial market services” would also help support the bank’s SME and commercial offerings.
Further, BOQ reported a statutory net profit of $174 million in 1H18, an annualised increase of 8 per cent.
[Related: Online SME lender to hit $2bn by 2020]
