1901 - Westpac began operations with one branch in Suva.
Up to 1994 - Remember when you had had to visit a branch to do your banking? Banking transactions were done manually, customers had to travel to branches or agencies to do their banking and transactions were all recorded on paper.
1995 - Westpac commenced on a journey to provide electronic banking to enhance customer convenience. Our customers were issued HandyCards and EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale) machines were introduced and proved extremely popular. Customers could now access their money, pay for purchases and get cash back at any store with a Westpac EFTPOS machine. They no longer needed to go to a branch to manually withdraw cash.
1995 - Westpac introduced a toll-free telephone line for customers. Customers simply called to obtain account balances, transfer funds into other Westpac accounts, order statements and cheque books and they could even place a stop payment on a cheque over the phone.
1999 - Westpac became the first bank to introduce Telephone Banking - an automated service which allowed registered personal customers to dial in and access their accounts. Westpac was making banking easier by enabling our customers to use Telephone Banking to transfer funds to other Westpac bank accounts, check their account balances and transactions, order statements and cheque books from anywhere in Fiji. Call Centre Staff were available to answer further banking enquiries.
1999 - Westpac Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) became available at all major towns and cities around Fiji. Customers could now withdraw cash without having to go into a branch.
2000 - Westpac introduced BillPay to Telephone Banking - customers could now pay their bills via telephone banking without leaving their home or office. More and more banking was being made available everywhere our customers were.
2004 - The introduction of Internet Banking (now known as Online Banking), took customers to a new level of banking. Business and personal customers could access their accounts via a secure website 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from anywhere in the world. Funds transfers, checking transactions and paying bills online became popular overnight and still is today.
2006 - Westpac launched the Internet Payment Gateway service. This enabled local merchants to sell their products online opening up their sales to the world. Westpac and merchant partnerships were enhanced. Westpac not only made banking easier but also assisted with increasing business's sales volumes.
Early 2010 - Mobile EFTPOS was introduced, enabling merchants to do business everywhere there is mobile coverage. No longer was the merchant bound to their phone line or internet connection, they can be truly mobile - at a festival, on a cruise ship or even at a football game - offering their customers more choices in the way to pay and saving time and money in the process.
January 2011 - Westpac partnered with other banks to offer EFTPOS Interchange. Together we made banking easier for all customers. Through EFTPOS Interchange, Westpac opened up our 1,000 plus EFTPOS machines around Fiji to other bank customers free of charge.
March 2011 - The paperless way to receive bank statements, eStatements, was introduced. Customers no longer had to wait for their statements to arrive in the mail, they can simply access them online at a time convenient to them. With eStatements, not only is Westpac making banking easier, we are partnering with our customers to do our bit towards reducing paper use and saving the environment.
April 2011 - Using mobile EFTPOS technology, Westpac partnered with rural merchants to deliver bank accounts and social welfare payments to some of 22,000 Social Welfare recipients. This saves them time and money as previously they had to travel to urban centers to cash their monthly allowances and provides them with the safety and convenience of a bank account.
May 2011 -Westpac launched Mobile Banking. Customers can now check their account balance, make fund transfers or report a lost card by sending a secure SMS to the bank. These services are free of charge and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, everywhere there is mobile coverage.
June 2011 - Westpac is the first bank to introduce multicurrency payments onto the Internet Payment Gateway. For merchants, this makes banking easier as they can make sales in the currency that their customers prefer, which especially appeals to tourists or overseas customers who wish to transact in their local currency.
June 2012 - Westpac launched In-store Banking which enables remote and rural customers access to their accounts via Westpac's vast merchant network. Customers can now withdraw, deposit, transfer funds, pay bills, enquire their balances and obtain a mini statement at their local store.
For generations, Westpac has continuously looked for ways to make banking easier by providing products and services that give our customers access to their accounts, where ever they are; in addition to our branch network of 19 branches across Fiji.