Financial news

Australia’s financial services sector is witnessing a significant shift towards digital banking, with cloud banking platform Mambu outlining its role in the transformation.

Mambu has steadily expanded its influence in the Australian market by partnering with 10 financial service providers, including Angle Finance, Bluestone Home Loans, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Lumi, Nimble, Prospa and Tyro.

In a visit to Sydney from Mambu’s head office in Amsterdam, Fernando Zandona, Mambu’s recently appointed CEO, emphasised the importance of the Australian market, expressing enthusiasm for growth and positive change within the local financial services industry.

Zandona said: “As digital banking matures in Australia and the understanding of the benefits of cloud grows, we want to continue expanding our reach to partner with and support even more pioneering financial service providers in Australia and the broader Asia Pacific region.

“With the impact of the Consumer Data Right (CDR) finally being felt, digital transformation has moved up to the top of the agenda for many organisations, and Mambu is in prime position to assist those financial institutions ready to make the digital leap.”

Australia landscape

As digital transformation accelerates in Australia, the ability to swiftly adapt to changing conditions becomes paramount. Zandona highlighted the importance of financial institutions avoiding technological debt and instead, partnering with agile fintech companies like Mambu to meet customer expectations efficiently.

“As digital transformation ramps up in Australia, the most important factor that financial institutions must be aware of is retaining the ability to respond swiftly to changing conditions, and not become mired in additional tech debt,” said Zandona. “In order to remain agile and be able to operate on a lean budget, financial institutions in Australia are increasingly partnering with high performing fintechs like Mambu to find better and faster ways to meet their customers’ expectations. We predict that this collaborative approach will continue to grow in popularity, as it has done in other parts of the world.”

Recent data from the Australian Banking Association (ABA) underscores the digital shift in the country’s banking landscape. A whopping 98.9 per cent of banking interactions in Australia now occur digitally, with online and app interactions showing remarkable growth while physical branch interactions have declined significantly. Additionally, Australian banking customers have expressed higher satisfaction with digital channels compared to traditional ones.

ABA also reports a substantial increase in technology spending by banks, reaching $28.5billion.

However, Zandona emphasised the importance of strategic technology spending that enables banks and lenders to quickly and effectively launch customer-centric products.

“What is critically important now is that this technology expenditure is strategic and appropriate, and that it enables banks and lenders to quickly and effectively launch the products that their customers want and need. We are truly excited at the pace of adoption of digital banking in Australia and look forward to welcoming many more Aussie customers to the Mambu family.”