The eWAY online payment gateway service has signed an Australian-first deal with the Commonwealth Bank that it claims will revolutionise the way merchants set up and manage their Internet sales facilities.

Under the agreement, eWAY will become a reseller of Commonwealth Bank merchant facilities, making it the sole point of contact for Web site proprietors who wish to establish the required facilities to sell goods and services online.

The Commonwealth Bank Express Merchant Application service will remove the need for merchants to apply separately to both the banks and their payment gateway service in order to setup an online payment facility.

Instead, merchants can go to eWAY for their entire online payment package.

eWAY CEO Matt Bullock said the deal marks a change in the way Australian online merchants setup their payment facilities.

"At the moment if you have a Web site and you decide you want to take payments, you have to go to the bank and give them a whole bunch of information to get the Internet merchant facility," Bullock said.

"Then you have to come back to the payment gateway and give them a whole bunch of information, so you are doubling up with information. The bank doesn't know what is going on with the gateway, the gateway doesn't know what is going on with the bank, and the merchants end up chasing their tails trying to get it all to happen," he said.

Tony Bartlett, CEO of eWAY shopping cart partner Enotia, said that in most cases the only remaining barrier to rapid deployment of online shopping systems, especially for new and small businesses, is the red tape surrounding the merchant facility application.

Budding online merchants can now deal exclusively with eWAY, who in turn will deal with the Commonwealth Bank on their behalf.

eWAY has a similar arrangement with American Express.

"So you only give the details to us once, as opposed to giving them to us, AMEX and the Commonwealth Bank," Bullock said.

Bullock expects the deal will simplify the requirements and process small, medium and large businesses must undertake in order to setup online payment facilities.

"What it means for sales is where all those merchants drop off because it's too hard, we'll take all their details, set the merchant facility up, and hold the merchant's hand through the entire process. We expect it to dramatically increase their sales," he said.

Bullock said the service will be available from next week.