The New Zealand payments outfit Smartpay Holdings listed on the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday, heralding an expansion into the A$129 billion Australian EFTPOS market. The company is already the largest provider of EFTPOS terminals in New Zealand, with more than 30,000 terminals installed. "We have scale and we see the Australian market as the next logical move," said Bradley Gerdis, Smartpay's managing director. The listing will also give his company access to deeper capital markets should this be needed.Gerdis added that while both countries are dominated by the same Big Four banks, the market structure for payments terminals differs markedly between New Zealand and Australia, as New Zealand is home to a large number of independent service providers.That is, New Zealand's banks don't offer a merchant payment services but outsource the network, either wholly or in pieces. "We are the preferred or exclusive supplier of payments technology to three of the four major banks - to Westpac, ASB (owned by CBA) and BNZ (owned by NAB). We do that under our own brand or white label it," said Gerdis. By way of contrast, Australia's acquiring banks supply most of the point-of-sale terminals as part of the customer relationship. Smartpay, which claims to have 10,000 terminals under rental contracts in Australia is now looking to convince banks in Australia that the provision and operation of EFTPOS terminals is becoming an increasingly non-core function for them.And, while Smartpay provides a similar service to the only other independent EFTPOS payments provider of note, Tyro, Gerdis was keen to differentiate his company. "Tyro has decided to go head to head with the banks, and even has a limited banking licence, which allows them to acquire as well," he observed. "Our model is a bit different. We provide the same service [as Tyro] but we do it in conjunction with banks, so we leave the banking relationship to them."The Smartpay business model is very similar to the one used by independent ATM suppliers in Australia, a comparison with which Gerdis readily agrees. "Our expectation is that we can emulate that model - outsourcing and managing back networks - in Australia," he said.The Australian banks to date have control of the EFTPOS market, but payments technology has moved quickly in recent times, and banks are, ultimately, financial services businesses not technology businesses, according to Gerdis. He then cited one notable exception: "The Commonwealth Bank is the only bank that has been innovating in the Australian [market]. They've got the jump on the other banks and it has really created a significant opportunity for us, as we have seen a fair bit of engagement from the other banks. "We have technology that in some ways surpasses that of the CBA and positions us well for working with the other banks," Gerdis said.Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was the first bank to sign up to the Smartpay service last year, and Gerdis is looking to move further into this part of the market. "We provide terminals. It is a