The fiendishly difficult challenge of integrating two banks' technology platforms
Rebuilding a tech stack or integrating with a rival is hard enough for the major banks like Westpac and ANZ. But for smaller lenders like People First Bank, it can be a nightmare.
In March, customer-owned lenders Heritage Bank and People’s Choice Bank merged to form Australia’s largest mutual bank with around $23 billion in assets and 730,000 members. Now it has announced it will change its name to People First Bank, the transition beginning in March next year, along with major technology integration. Chief executive Peter Lock outlined his vision.
Heritage and People’s Choice merged in March and that’s progressing but is there more to this next step than a new name, People First Bank?
The important part of this is also a new app and internet banking (IB). It's currently being developed in partnership with a firm called Backbase. The app and IB will be the mainstay of the bank. And that's obviously contemporary with the range of features, benefits and security that the public is looking for. That will start to roll out in March through internal testing for a roll out to members in September of 2024.
Essentially then that will be the new bank with a new name?
Yes, we will start to originate on the People First Bank brand, with the app and IB through next year. So we'll start to rename and rebadge our primary assets, the sponsorship of the Western Bulldogs and Heritage Bank Stadium (in Cararra on the Gold Coast), will be renamed People First Bank stadium. And that will happen from now so we’re ready for the AFL season.
