As part of the final edition of FST Media’s Australia and New Zealand newsletter for 2014, FST Media has compiled the “Top 10” list of the most widely-read interviews from the popular Who’s Who weekly interviews.
Based on the highest click through rates, the most popular interviews were with the top tech chiefs from Westpac, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and AMP.
Upon review, key themes consistently referred to in the top 10 included the importance of enhancing the customer experience through business intelligence, data and analytics, the continuing growth of mobile and digital channels, and the future of payments.
Maria Ternezis, Chief of Technology Execution and Optimisation, Westpac Group
“The customer engagement model has switched180 degrees from ‘Push’ to’ Pull’. Where once banks would push new ways of banking out to our customers, for example the introduction of ATMs, now our customers are driving changes in the way we do things through their changing habits and their need to interact with us how and when they want. We need to be ‘on’ 24 x 7, have omni-channel offerings, be fast to market whilst always being disciplined and secure in the way we run and change our business.”
Carolyn Bendall, Head of Marketing, Australia Division, ANZ
“Data-driven, real-time insights are key in achieving customer engagement. Our social tracking tools also measure customer sentiment and enable us to respond quickly. We have another tool called ‘Real-Time Customer Feedback’ which is a very effective for in-the-moment customer engagement.”
Anne Garlick, General Manager of Comminsure Delivery and Support, Commonwealth Bank, Australia
“While historically insurance has been predominantly face-to-face and largely driven by the need of financial advisers to support customers, there is a wealth of opportunity for a more do-it-yourself approach.
There is an opportunity to have younger people engage with insurance, managing their risk through life with a portfolio of insurance products.”
Andrew Maynard, Head of Technology, AMP Bank
“Simply put, Agile techniques have allowed us to priorities what is important (to the customer and business) and implement faster than before. It is perfectly suited to human centred design and has promoted a new language within our project teams, from ‘business requirements’ to ‘customer journey mapping and user stories’.”
Dhiren Kulkarni, Chief Information Officer, St.George Bank
“A key factor of innovation at St George is our nimble framework. When we move into a new area of technology, we want to fail fast. Our approach is to isolate ideas worthy of pursuing a proof of concept.”
Michael Harte, Group Executive, Enterprise Services & Chief Information Officer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
“Mobility is clearly more than a trend; it is now a way of life. That is why we continue to innovate with all things mobile, from new apps, new payment solutions including ‘PayTag’ and Near Field Communication (NFC) as well new point-of-sale experiences.”
Juan Jose Cebrian, Chief Information Officer, ING Direct
“I think there will be a way of banking that will respond better to our customers’ needs, and we would have fully embedded our services in a pervasive digital environment where the boundaries of physical and digital will no longer exist.”
Kathryn Hawkins, CIO, ME Bank
“Big data is a huge priority for us. We are going to start tapping into big data to customise the customer experience starting with how they transact and what life stage they are in. “
Travis Tyler, Head of Mobile, St. George Banking Group
“Disruption will come in many and varied forms. If we take payments for instance, Australia has quickly outpaced the world with contactless payments and using mobile is the next evolution of this. Once mobile payments get traction, we will begin to see ‘over the top’ services such as WhatsApp emerge which banks will need to compete with otherwise risk losing the relationship.”
Anthony Dureau, Head of Segment Youth & Everyday Australians, AMP
“Our new app is a great way for us to drive engagement with our customers. One of the challenges with super is that it is not something people think to look at every day, but the app allows customers to view and track of all their wealth options in one place including access to great articles through our daily newsfeed.”
