Top athletes are in need of specialised
support for financial affairs.
Bizner, the virtual bank for online
businesses
Food agri
enabled clients to order money and to refill the
call account balance of their mobile phones.
Also in the year under review, Rabobank
developed iDEAL Lite and the Rabo Pinbox,
which are aimed specifically at start-up
(Internet) enterprises. The number of iDEAL
transactions exceeded 4 million in 2006, of
which Rabobank's share was 45% among
private clients and 29% among web shops. In
2006, after its introduction in 2005, the number
of enterprises offering iDEAL as a payment
service on their sites increased by more than
700. iDEAL enables clients to buy comfortably
via the Internet. iDEAL Lite was specially deve
loped for start-up online shops. This product is
of interest to web shops effecting fewer trans
actions, because entrepreneurs pay transaction
costs only. Rabo Pinbox offers clients a land-line
or a mobile "point-of-sale terminal" at a fixed
monthly amount with all costs included.
The local Rabobanks work to ensure that the
bank affairs of SME clients too, are always up
to date. The Financiële APK ("Financial MOT"),
which was developed in 2006, quickly affords
clarity to clients as to whether their bank affairs
are still aligned with their needs. The bank's
excellent response to the needs of SME clients
again resulted in large numbers of satisfied
clients.
A growing number of businesses use Internet
banking. In February 2007, Rabobank launched
www.bizner.nl, the virtual bank for entrepreneurs
who prefer self-service. Bizner is a compact
and flexible Internet-only formula based on
self-service and operational excellence and
offers a highly standardised bank. The new
formula is interesting especially to start-ups
and SME clients in the cities. Bizner focuses
on small and medium-sized enterprises that
require simple payment transactions and small
loans. Bizner enables entrepreneurs to buy,
change or take out all financial basic products
online, 24 hours a day. Bizner is the first corpo
rate Internet bank without account managers
and without branch offices, but with self-service.
The agricultural sector and its related sectors
are important clients to Rabobank. For the best
possible service to these food agri clients,
Rabobank Group has bundled its expertise,
service provision and marketing communication
into its Food Agri department. In 2006, this
department paid a lot of attention to develop
ments in energy. Issues that received special
attention included greenhouse horticulture
(e.g. greenhouses as a source of energy), wind
farms as an initiative from agricultural
entrepreneurs and the building of biological
fermenting installations.
Rabobank cherishes young agricultural
business successors, as they are the agricultural
entrepreneurs of the future. Rabo Opvolgers
Perspectief was developed especially for them.
It supports young entrepreneurs in both their
individual and financial development during
the business succession process.
Rabobank keeps abreast of developments in
the food agri markets. The Food Agri group
periodically issues publications aimed at agri
cultural entrepreneurs. In 2006, Rabobank
Financial advice for top
athletes
Surveys have shown that top
athletes are in need of speciali
sed support for their financial
affairs. More than half of all top
athletes are concerned about
their financial future, one in
two say they have no financial
agent and one in four does not
have their financial affairs in
order. In addition, one in four
claims they know at least one
potential medal winner who
gave up his sport for financial
reasons. This is why, in 2006,
Rabobank set up Topsport
Desks especially for top athletes
- one in Eindhoven and one in
Utrecht. The Topsport Desks
are a product of the bank's
relationship with NOC*NSF and
helps top athletes achieve their
ambitions. High-net worth top
athletes and those outside that
category can turn to these
desks for financial advice at a
Private Banking level. Managing
top athletes' bank affairs
is a specialised activity, partly
because they do not have fixed
incomes, spend a lot of time
abroad and have relatively
short careers. Committed
advisers who understand both
high-level sporting and finance
have tailored solutions for all
sports people - from young
talents to established top
athletes.
Domestic retail banking 29
