I wasn't going to post this link but with latest news might be of interest. Maybe SYD can get in on some of these.
newswire.ca
CIBC, IBM Canada, Nobil IT, and the Student Connection Program launch an innovative e-commerce solution
for small businesses
TORONTO, April 21 /CNW/ - Customers around the world are now at the
fingertips of Canadian small business owners with the launch of CIBC Small
Business Internet Commerce Solutions, a joint venture involving CIBC, IBM
Canada, Nobil IT, and Industry Canada's Student Connection Program. Starting
today, entrepreneurs will have a turnkey e-commerce solution that gives them a
fast, easy, secure, and cost effective tool to expand their businesses onto
the Internet, while having access to on-site technical support from qualified
post-secondary students, if required.
The CIBC Small Business Internet Commerce Solutions is designed to meet
the evolving needs of small businesses as they grow. This e-business package
combines the latest technology to enable a small company to create an ''online
storefront,'' display available goods and services, and accept payment online
from major credit cards. To help retailers move onto the Internet, CIBC Small
Business Internet Commerce Solutions includes:
- IBM's HomePage Creator for e-business, consisting of an online
Web authoring and maintenance tool and hosting service,
- Secure Socket Layer encryption used in CIBC PC banking,
- CIBC and Nobil IT's Payway, the first secure, hosted Internet
payment system.
''Internet commerce is booming and through the CIBC Small Business
Internet Commerce Solutions we are offering retailers a turnkey solution to
help them tap into this growing market,'' says Rob Paterson, general manager
of small business banking for CIBC. ''This end-to-end Internet commerce
solution gives retailers an easy, secure, and inexpensive entry to doing
business online as well as on-site training on IBM Home Page Creator for
e-business for those who require additional assistance.''
The CIBC Small Business Internet Commerce Solutions assists small
business merchants interested in entering the realm of e-business by
eliminating much of the confusion -- and cost -- of setting up a virtual
store. ''To have a successful storefront on the Internet, your Web site must
be open for business around-the-clock, providing customers with a safe,
high-quality shopping experience,'' says Shahla Aly, vice president and
general manager of e-business and ERP Solutions for IBM Canada Ltd. ''By
combining all the building blocks in a single package, we have made it easy
and affordable for small businesses to create a powerful Web site for doing
real business on the Internet.''
Opening a storefront on the Web with the CIBC Small Business Internet
Commerce Solutions can be done for as little as $39.95 a month with a site --
built using IBM HomePage Creator for e-business -- that displays available
goods and services. For an additional $48.00 a month, excluding approved
transaction and merchant fees, retailers can be running a virtual store that
accepts payment online from major credit cards.
A Web site can be easily turned into a virtual store that accepts and
processes payment with CIBC's Payway, a secure, hosted Internet payment system
allowing real-time credit card processing. Once a merchant is approved for
on-line payment transactions, and depending on the service and solution the
owner chooses, the retailer can handle Visa and other credit card payments
safely and securely over the Internet with the most widely used encryption
technology.
''Payway creates a virtual point-of-sale terminal for merchants, allowing
consumers to conduct transactions directly with CIBC and Nobil IT through
secure encryption for payment authorization,'' says Dean Hagman, chairman of
Nobil IT. ''With Payway, all credit card authorizations and payments are
directly with CIBC, thus minimizing the disclosure of the customer's
information and providing a layer of confidentiality to the transaction. For
the merchant, it offers a reassuring layer of card and customer
confidentiality.''
In addition, Nobil IT will provide merchants with invoice generation and
customization tools needed to bill Internet commerce clients. The CIBC Small
Business Internet Commerce Solutions also offers on-site or Internet-based
training for IBM HomePage Creator for e-business through Industry Canada's
Student Connection Program, using highly-skilled post-secondary students.
Information about CIBC Small Business Internet Commerce Solutions,
including facts on IBM HomePage Creator for e-business and the Student
Connection Program, is available at
www.cibc.com/SmallBusiness/InternetCommerce.
Merchants interested in assistance from post-secondary students in their
area can call the Student Connection Program at 1-888-807-7777.
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CIBC SMALL BUSINESS INTERNET COMMERCE SOLUTION BACKGROUNDER
CIBC
CIBC is one of North America's leading financial institutions. It offers
a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic
banking network, branches and offices across Canada and around the world. CIBC
is committed to providing its more than 300,000 small business customers with
innovative products and services. More information about CIBC can be found at
www.cibc.com.
IBM Canada
IBM Canada offers a wide variety of end-to-end e-business services
solutions and products designed to help small businesses as they grow.
Resources from IBM that help Canadian small businesses use technology to
become more competitive and productive include the IBM Small Business
Solutions Centre and IBM Small Business Advisor Online. For more information
on IBM Canada, visit www.can.ibm.com.
Nobil Information Technology Corp.
Nobil Information Technology Corp. is an innovative Electronic Payments
solution provider that provides customized value-added services to financial
institutions and merchants around industry standard payment protocols and
payment types such as Credit Card, Debit, Stored Value, and Micro-payments.
The Nobil gateway system provides financial institutions with a new
modular technology platform which allows the same merchant payment and data
presentation services to be delivered to multiple platforms, such as the
Internet, point of sale, kiosks, and telephony devices, on a global scale
using secure delivery channels with centralized management tools.
Nobil IT Corp. was formed in 1997 and has its international development
centre located in Toronto, Canada, with operations in the Australia, Canada
and the United States. Information about Nobil IT Corp. and its products and
services can be found on the World Wide Web at nobil.com.
The Student Connection Program
The Student Connection Program (SCP) is an Industry Canada initiative,
funded by Youth Employment Strategy, that hires university and college
students as Student Business Advisors. Assisting small and medium-sized
businesses, these specially trained students provide customized, hands-on
Internet and e-commerce training. In July 1998, SCP launched Year 2000 First
Step in conjunction with CIBC to help small businesses prepare for the Year
2000. Students gain valuable on-the-job work experience at the same time as
financing their education.
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available
on the Canadian Press Photo Network/
-30-
For further information: Media contacts: Shannon Bowness, CIBC,
(416) 980-3038, shannon.bowness@cibc.com; Stephen Smith, IBM Canada,
(416) 385-4928, srsmith@ca.ibm.com; Liz Johnston, Student Connection
Program, (613) 941-7613, johnston.elizabeth@ic.gc.ca |
