blacksheep
27-05-2004, 07:48 PM
AFL has just won the Deloitte accountants award for the fastest growing business in Australia - see below.
The shares have risen from 18c this time last year to around $1.30.
Just as ATM machines enabled banks to cut the costs of suburban banking, so AFL's Service ATM machines take away from Australia Post shops some of the bill payments business of those consumers who still do not use internet banking.
Newsagents In Pay Play
By Florence Chong For The Australian March 26 2004
David has taken on Goliath in Australia's multi-billion-dollar bill payment market, a small Melbourne-based technology company, Bill Express, having developed an aggressive strategy to challenge Australia Post, which has virtually sewn up the market for in-person bill payments.
Corporate Australia generates about 600 million bills every year, of which an estimated 120 million are paid in person. About 300 million are paid electronically and the rest through other channels like direct debit. Industry sources say Australia Post and BPay process at least 85 per cent of all non-bank bills in Australia. But their dominance has not deterred Bill Express from aiming for a share of the growing market. Bill Express is a division of technology company DialTime and ultimately owned by listed company Australian Pure Fruits Ltd. It has rapidly established a network of outlets for bill-payers around Australia.
DialTime strategic development director Julian Little says that since last July, Bill Express has recruited more than 1250 newsagents to act as its agents. His target is at least 2200 newsagencies by the end of this year. And three years ago, Bill Express acquired 450 stand-alone kiosks that can accept bills from Coles Myer. These ATMS are located in Coles supermarkets around Australia. Bill Express can process bills in 1700 locations.
In contrast, Australia Post has a network of almost 4000 wholly owned and licensed agents around the country who accept bill payments. Bill Express installs a terminal loaded with technology to scan cheques and customers' account numbers at participating newsagencies, which are believed to be paid 50c per transaction.
Australian Newsagents Federation chief executive Paul Waite says: "We have 2790 members and some 1400 have signed with Bill Express."We see this as an opportunity to offer our customers a service. They can pay their bills when they are in a newsagency. The idea is to attract more customers to newsagencies." Waite says newsagents are "not paid a lot of money for the service. We see this as a community service". He says the Newsagents Federation is also negotiating with a mortgage broker in a deal expected to be unveiled in May. "Our core product is selling newspapers but since deregulation of the industry, our members are finding a need to add new items to their business." Australia Post outlets also stock stationery and other products often found in newsagencies, and offer a wide range of financial services. For instance, Western Union, a large US financial organisation specialising in money transfers, has signed up both the Australian Newsagents Federation and Australia Post as its agents in Australia.
"Research has shown that 70 per cent of Australians visit a newsagent at least once a fortnight," says DialTime's Little. "We believe the people who pay bills at Australia Post outlets are the same people who also visit their local newsagents frequently," he says.
While it has built up an impressive number of outlets, Bill Express is short of corporate billers. It has signed up just 35 companies, against 511 corporate billers who use Australia Post. Most of Australia's billion-dollar companies – mostly utilities and telephone companies – have done due diligence on the small firm and given it the OK. "Having won some of the biggest billers in the country, our top priority is to recruit more major billers and have a retail network behind us," says Little. Its clients include utilities companies like Sydney Water, Western Power in Western Australia, Queensland's Energex, Tasmania's
The shares have risen from 18c this time last year to around $1.30.
Just as ATM machines enabled banks to cut the costs of suburban banking, so AFL's Service ATM machines take away from Australia Post shops some of the bill payments business of those consumers who still do not use internet banking.
Newsagents In Pay Play
By Florence Chong For The Australian March 26 2004
David has taken on Goliath in Australia's multi-billion-dollar bill payment market, a small Melbourne-based technology company, Bill Express, having developed an aggressive strategy to challenge Australia Post, which has virtually sewn up the market for in-person bill payments.
Corporate Australia generates about 600 million bills every year, of which an estimated 120 million are paid in person. About 300 million are paid electronically and the rest through other channels like direct debit. Industry sources say Australia Post and BPay process at least 85 per cent of all non-bank bills in Australia. But their dominance has not deterred Bill Express from aiming for a share of the growing market. Bill Express is a division of technology company DialTime and ultimately owned by listed company Australian Pure Fruits Ltd. It has rapidly established a network of outlets for bill-payers around Australia.
DialTime strategic development director Julian Little says that since last July, Bill Express has recruited more than 1250 newsagents to act as its agents. His target is at least 2200 newsagencies by the end of this year. And three years ago, Bill Express acquired 450 stand-alone kiosks that can accept bills from Coles Myer. These ATMS are located in Coles supermarkets around Australia. Bill Express can process bills in 1700 locations.
In contrast, Australia Post has a network of almost 4000 wholly owned and licensed agents around the country who accept bill payments. Bill Express installs a terminal loaded with technology to scan cheques and customers' account numbers at participating newsagencies, which are believed to be paid 50c per transaction.
Australian Newsagents Federation chief executive Paul Waite says: "We have 2790 members and some 1400 have signed with Bill Express."We see this as an opportunity to offer our customers a service. They can pay their bills when they are in a newsagency. The idea is to attract more customers to newsagencies." Waite says newsagents are "not paid a lot of money for the service. We see this as a community service". He says the Newsagents Federation is also negotiating with a mortgage broker in a deal expected to be unveiled in May. "Our core product is selling newspapers but since deregulation of the industry, our members are finding a need to add new items to their business." Australia Post outlets also stock stationery and other products often found in newsagencies, and offer a wide range of financial services. For instance, Western Union, a large US financial organisation specialising in money transfers, has signed up both the Australian Newsagents Federation and Australia Post as its agents in Australia.
"Research has shown that 70 per cent of Australians visit a newsagent at least once a fortnight," says DialTime's Little. "We believe the people who pay bills at Australia Post outlets are the same people who also visit their local newsagents frequently," he says.
While it has built up an impressive number of outlets, Bill Express is short of corporate billers. It has signed up just 35 companies, against 511 corporate billers who use Australia Post. Most of Australia's billion-dollar companies – mostly utilities and telephone companies – have done due diligence on the small firm and given it the OK. "Having won some of the biggest billers in the country, our top priority is to recruit more major billers and have a retail network behind us," says Little. Its clients include utilities companies like Sydney Water, Western Power in Western Australia, Queensland's Energex, Tasmania's