Aider and Westpac NZ bring digital assistance to SMEs

New Zealand’s Auckland based Aider, an artificial intelligence software company, has announced a collaboration with the bank Westpac NZ.

The two will work together to provide conversational digital assistance to SMEs. According to Westpac NZ, SMEs are an undeserved group considering that they make up 97% of New Zealand’s business.

Westpac NZ Head of Digital Ventures, Lewis Billinghurst, said: “We see great value in being able to introduce SMEs to artificial intelligence in an easily-consumed format. The team at Aider have a compelling vision and we’re pleased to work with them to help our mutual customers grow their businesses.”

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Aider says their software will help business owners make fast decisions with the help of data to improve both their efficiency and bottom line. Beyond this, Aider can also be used by Westpac’s SME customers, of which there are 85,000, to contact a bank representative in the case where they require assistance.

“We believe in human-centric AI and created Aider to give small business owners easy access to the information they need to make better business decisions,” said Aider Co-Founder, Pete Weaver. “With the Aider app, you simply ask for what you want – whether it’s your total expenditure for the last week or your top selling products for the day – and get instant access to the data you need. Banking relationships are critical to SMEs and we look forward to working more with Westpac to help serve their customers.”

The app is available in Australia and New Zealand, with a three month free trial on offer for Westpac NZ customers.