The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has hit a new multi-year high today as the company announces a new tech partnership. Shares in the bank are currently trading at $94.68, up 0.8% on Friday's close.
As well as breaking through its previous 52-week high, the CBA share price is closing in on its all-time high of $96.17, achieved in late March 2015.
Let's take a look at what the banking giant announced.
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Big tech partnership
The Commonwealth Bank has announced a partnership with major e-commerce operator Bigcommerce Holdings Inc, in what The Age today described as a move to attract younger, digitally savvy business banking customers.
BigCommerce is a US-listed company worth $3.34 billion. It provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) e-commerce platform that helps target online shoppers, similar to that of rival Shopify Inc.
CBA says the partnership will provide the bank's business customers with a platform that allows them to establish and grow their online presence. Anything from building a website and marketing campaigns through to payment solutions will be covered. It will also enable Commbank merchants to get paid faster through its same-day settlement.
According to The Age, CBA aims to use the platform to make inroads into the business banking sector. Traditionally Commonwealth's major rival National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) has been dominant in this sector and CBA is looking to change this.
Hunting for millennials
With the cohort of millennials set to grow by 17% over the next 10 years, Australia's major bank is on the hunt for younger customers. It is widely held that millennials are generally more tech-savy than their older counterparts and, as such, a different style of marketing is required to attract them to a business.
Commonwealth Bank has been increasing its focus on attracting this demographic and, so far, this play appears to be bearing fruit. According to CBA, 57% of all its new bank customers over the last 6 months have been millennials.
Nonetheless, as stated by James Fowle, CBA's business customer solutions executive general manager:
This is for businesses of all sizes, from a small startup selling things from your Instagram account all the way up to a large e-commerce player with multiple warehouses across Australia.
As such, this move is not just for the younger generation but all those that have transitioned to a stronger online presence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About the CBA share price
The CBA share price has had a great year so far, gaining more than 13%. What's more, investors holding the stock will receive a dividend yield of 3.3%, fully franked.
And with the bank yet to disclose its results this month, Citi analysts are expecting a jump in that amount. According to the analysts, Commonwealth Bank should pay a $3.45 dividend in FY21, meaning a 3.65% payout at today's prices.
