ITWire

Kaching (Credit: Commonwealth Bank)

Announced as part of a broader commitment by the bank to welcome ideas from customers as to how it can improve itself and its services, the CBA will run the IdeaBank as a competition designed to encourage innovative thoughts from those that use its services.

A reward of $10,000 will be offered to the creator of the suggestion that receives the most votes from both customers and the leadership team within the company.

'Technology has played a critical role in our past 100 years of Banking, helping us grow and continually improve, therefore it's only natural that we continue to invest in this channel to both differentiate our brand and offer stand out customer service, experience and now contribution,' Andy Lark, Chief Marketing and Online Officer at the Commonwealth Bank, said in a statement today.

'I'm delighted that we're able to pioneer in this space and harness the collective power of our 10 million plus customers, and work together to build a Bank that's always one step ahead.'

The platform will begin accepting ideas from its launch on December 8, with the theme for ideas said to be based around the 'Future of Banking'. In the meantime, customers can now sign up to be notified when the IdeaBank begins to accept ideas.

The CBA is constantly pushing the image that it's ahead of the curve - and when it comes to technology, it seems to be the case. In October it announced a new service, dubbed Kaching, that allows customers to transfer money and pay for transactions using NFC technology - making it the first bank in Australia to launch such a full scale service.

A large emphasis has been placed on the bank's real-time platforms, with mobile apps also a significant investment - as of October this year 28% of logins to the Commonwealth Bank's platforms are from mobile devices in Australia with 91% from iPhones (79%) and the rest from Android handsets.