UBank to launch mobile banking this year

Beverley Head
Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:43

Business IT - Networking

NAB online banking offshoot UBank, which set up a five minute online savings account last August, plans to offer its first mobile banking service later this year.

According to Gerd Schenkel, UBank general manager, while the organisation is now 'writing positive income and working toward becoming cash positive' - which is banker-speak for 'we haven't quite got back what we invested in setting up UBank' - the organisation was already looking at additional products to offer online, and also at new distribution channels.

'Mobile is probably the next step for us. There will be a mobile platform sometime this year as we follow customer demand,' said Schenkel.

Users should not however expect a cut down version of the UBank website for phones, as Schenkel stressed that UBank did not plan 'to migrate the website to a Blackberry or iPhone.' Instead UBank was trying to determine what banking activities customers wanted to perform from a phone - whether it was to enquire about their balance, or execute a transaction for example. 

The bank would then develop a service to meet that requirement.

UBank wasn't the first to offer Australians online account applications, but still offers one of the more streamlined services as with little more than a driver's licence, Medicare card and a couple of personal details, a new USaver account, even for non NAB customers, can be set up in less than five minutes.

Schenkel explained that customers who needed to call the bank's call centre should also expect a different experience, as unlike many call centres which interview candidates for about half an hour, UBank subjected candidates to a four hour audition. This was intended to find out whether call centre operators 'have the ability to make an emotional connection with customers.'