Customer stories

Waiheke Movers on switching to smartphone payments

Joanne’s business puts customers first by making it easy for them to pay. With support from ANZ, her business has gone from strength to strength.

Reading time: 3 minutes

A serendipitous start

Joanne Paul couldn’t believe her luck when she heard a furniture-moving business on Waiheke Island was on the block.

“I had been wanting to set up a moving business on the island, and although I knew it was a long shot, I asked the owners of Waiheke Movers if it was for sale. In fact, they were due to put an ad in the local paper in two days,” says Joanne.

She knew that Waiheke Movers would be a great fit for her existing company, 1081 Labour Hire and Cleaners. She seized the opportunity, made an offer and ended up pipping four hopeful buyers at the post.


Smart, steady growth

Joanne’s predictions were right. Just one year after buying the business – and with support from ANZ – Waiheke Movers was already flourishing. Its fleet has since grown from one truck, to two transit vans and three trucks, with a daily freight service added to and from Auckland. The company often provides freight services to customers moving to the island, as well as labour hire and cleaning services.

Joanne attributes her growth to never saying no to any job, employing good staff and cutting down on admin costs with tools such as ANZ FastPay.

“I was able to draw on the existing labour pool from 1081 Labour Hire and Cleaners, so accepted every job that came along. I have been able to do two jobs a day when the demand is there.”

The payment details are quickly popped on to my smartphone and I punch in the customer's email address so they receive a receipt – Joanne Paul

Making it easy

Before buying Waiheke Movers, a client had told Joanne about ANZ’s mobile payment app ANZ FastPay, that lets businesses like Joanne’s receive credit and debit card payments through a smartphone.

“I bought the business on a Friday and the following Monday walked into ANZ to sign up – because they had FastPay.” 

Moving can be a stressful time in people’s lives and customers are pleased when they find out that they can pay quickly and easily rather than having to faff with invoices, online transfers or cash, says Joanne.

"It hardly takes any time at all. Just like paying by EFTPOS at the supermarket, but better."

Better business

According to Joanne, ANZ FastPay has clear advantages from a business perspective. 

Having ANZ FastPay shows Joanne’s customers that even though Waiheke Movers is a small business, it’s professional and ‘up with the play’ in terms of technology to make the moving process as simple as possible. Fewer admin costs are a huge bonus, as is not having to chase invoices. 

“The payment details are quickly popped on to my smartphone and I punch in the customer's email address so they receive a receipt.”

Learning while growing

As a resident of Waiheke Island for 26 years, Joanne knows a lot of people. She has used existing relationships to stabilise the business and developed new relationships with local retail outlets to grow.

Still, like any fledgling business, it hasn’t been without its challenges. 

“I learnt the hard way that I must always take a security deposit.”

On the flipside, she gets to meet lovely people, who are happy about starting a new chapter in their lives, she says.

Paying it forward

Joanne’s medium-term goal is to grow the business and adopt an owner-operator model. “It would give me a great sense of achievement if I was instrumental in helping our great guys into a business of their own.

“As a Māori woman, providing young people with opportunities to grow, and look after their families, is part of my culture. There are three types of people in this world – people who make things happen, people who watch what happens and people who wonder what happens. I encourage all of our team to make things happen, for themselves and their families first.”

Related content

Important information

We’ve provided this material as a complimentary service. It is prepared based on information and sources ANZ believes to be reliable. ANZ cannot warrant its accuracy, completeness or suitability for your intended use. The content is information only, is subject to change, and isn’t a substitute for commercial judgement or professional advice, which you should seek before relying on it. To the extent the law allows, ANZ doesn’t accept any responsibility or liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage arising from any act or omissions by any person relying on this material.

Please talk to us if you need financial advice about a product or service. See our financial advice provider disclosure at anz.co.nz/fapdisclosure

Was this content helpful?