NAB to debut core banking platform this month

National Australia Bank will begin rolling out its ‘personal banking origination platform’ this month, following a successful pilot last year in contact centres and branches in the North Territory and South Australia.

The biggest technology overhaul in the bank’s history is transforming the customer experience, significantly reducing processing times for the bank’s products. For instance, credit card application times have been reduced to seven minutes.

“For our bankers, we’ve streamlined processes by reducing the number of clicks to complete a loan application from 250 to 50, which significantly reduces errors and improves turnaround times,” said NAB’s executive general manager, core banking, Steve Collier.

“As well as quicker turnaround times, we’re delivering a more transparent customer experience that keeps our customers updated through the progress of their loan or application via internet banking and SMS,” Collier said.

Since the pilot commenced last August, more than 9,000 transaction accounts, 4,000 credit cards and personal loans, and 700 home loans have been opened, NAB said.

The rollout follows the introduction last March of customer hub, NAB View. The hub contains 135 million customer records and is designed to improve reporting, forecasting, and planning for bank staff.

At the same time, the bank also launched a free point of sale app, NAB Now. Small business owners can use iOS or Android smartphones, the app and Bluetooth card readers to accept credit card and debit card payments from customers.

NAB’s new core system is based on Oracle technologies and the vendor’s CEO, Mark Hurd recently visited NAB’s headquarters to witness the delivery of the new platform, NAB said.

“This is another example of how NAB is future proofing our business to ensure we have the right infrastructure in place to deliver a faster and simpler customer experience,” Collier said.

The national rollout is expected to be complete by the end of 2016, NAB said.

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