12 months after first announcement, bank signs first digital deal.
Westpac Group has signed Afterpay as the first partner on its new digital banking platform.
The digital bank-as-a-service platform uses cloud-native technology from 10x Future Technologies and allows Westpac to work with leading companies to offer convenient and innovative banking services to Australians.
Westpac CEO, Peter King said fintech innovation is changing banking in important ways.
“Our digital banking platform is part of our long-term strategy to support this trend and better respond to changing customer needs,” he said. “The platform allows us to combine our banking experience with the innovation of our partners to support new customer experiences.”
The partnership will allow Afterpay to provide Westpac transaction and savings accounts and other cashflow management tools to its 3.3 million customers in Australia in Q2 2021.
Afterpay CEO, Anthony Eisen, said the latest banking technology from 10x, and the support of Westpac, allows it to offer cashflow management in a simple way.
“Afterpay is in a unique position to extend and deepen the relationship with our customers and help them to manage their money more seamlessly through savings and budgeting tools. For Afterpay, this is clearly just the beginning as we explore this opportunity globally,” he said.
During its 2019 full year results Westpac announced that the bank was preparing for a “digital future”, said Westpace Group CEO, Brian Hartzer at the time.
He said the bank would do this by “investing in a new digital-only banking platform that will complement our existing banking businesses”.
“This will initially operate a ‘bank-as-a-service’ model and we intend to bring new digital products and services to market through fintech and institutional partners,” he said. “This will allow Westpac to reach a new group of customers as well as create value for our partners by enhancing the service offering to their own customers.”
At the time Hertzer said Westpac expects to make a minority equity investment in UK-based cloud banking technology provider, 10x Future Technologies Holdings Limited.
“This initiative builds on the significant investment we have made – and will continue to make – in modernising our platforms, including the Customer Service Hub and Panorama,” he said. “Together this will mean we have the right systems to meet changing customer needs now and in the future.”
