Are you on the hunt for a financial product that could improve your daily life? Canstar has revealed some notable financial innovations in Australia that may be what you’re looking for.
Every year we invite Australian financial institutions to put forward their most progressive products for Canstar’s Innovation Excellence Awards.
From those submissions, Canstar’s panel of experts assessed a number of products and services across online banking, payment technology, general insurance, investing and lending.
The panel has judged the submissions based on their degree of innovation and impact that they will have in their respective field.
Canstar has recognised nine innovations with an Innovation Excellence Award.
The winners of Canstar’s 2019 Innovation Excellence Awards are listed below in alphabetical order.
2019 Innovation Excellence Award Winners
Bank First – First Start Share Equity Agreement
Canstar has recognised Bank First’s First Start Share Equity Agreement as an innovative product that could help first home buyers get into the property market sooner.
The First Start Share Equity Agreement allows parents to contribute money towards their children’s house deposit without having to act as a guarantor or gifting money.
The First Start Share Equity Agreement provides the means to establish a formal agreement between parents or relatives (referred to as contributors) and the home buyer or buyers (referred to as beneficiaries). The agreement outlines all parties’ legal rights and obligations.
Bank First says the benefits of this arrangement includes better protecting the contributor’s interest when it comes to marital or family breakdowns, giving the contributor shares in a percentage of any increased value of the property without the contributor’s home, assets and credit rating being put at risk.
In this scenario the contributor does not own the property, but if the house were to be sold, they are entitled to be repaid their contribution and a percentage of the equity as a return.
For the home buyer, benefits include assistance with buying a home sooner than what may have been possible, still being able to apply for the First Home Owner Grant and access to any stamp duty concessions if they are a first home buyer (and meet other eligibility criteria as well as being the home owner).
According to Bank First, its share equity agreement is secured using a second mortgage over the home buyer’s property.
This means if the borrower were to default on their home loan, then the contributor is entitled to sell the home to repay the First Start SEA amount.
However, there is a potential risk that the property may decline in value, leaving little to no equity in the home. This worst-case scenario may result in the contributor not receiving the full amount of their initial contribution once the home is sold.
The Canstar Research judging panel found the First Start Share Equity Agreement provided family members an alternative solution when it came to helping a loved one get into the housing market.
Bendigo Bank – Youth Debit Mastercard
Bendigo Bank’s Youth Debit Mastercard was found to offer extra security provisions on children’s spending while providing the additional payment flexibility of a Debit Mastercard to young teens.
The new card, available for children aged between 12 to 15 years old, has restrictions on the types of purchases that can be made in a bid to improve security.
Purchases on certain merchant codes that relate to gambling, alcohol and tobacco are automatically declined.
The Canstar Research judging panel found the implementation of merchant code restrictions for a teen-specific debit card was unique, providing parents with some peace of mind, while giving their child more autonomy with their day-to-day transactions.
ING – IFTTT and ING
ING’s partnership with technology company If This Then That (IFTTT) to create a ‘set-and-forget’ savings feature was recognised for making saving a positive and automated experience for customers.
ING customers with an Orange Everyday transaction account linked to a Savings Maximiser account can set up an automatic savings transfer.
The IFTTT technology links apps and devices with a customer’s ING Orange Everyday account so they can, for instance, set up a trigger to save $5 every time their favourite celebrity tweets or every time they reach ten thousand steps on their Fitbit.
The Canstar Research judging panel found this would allow many customers to reinforce a variety of behaviours of their choosing and save money across multiple devices such as computers, phones, smart watches and more.
MLC – Mental Health Navigator
MLC’s Mental Health Navigator was recognised as a positive step forward in the insurance market for those suffering from mental health issues by offering quick, convenient and discreet access to specialist support.
The service assists people with a mental health condition navigate the healthcare system.
It connects them with a network of experienced clinical psychologists and psychiatrists online, who can help with diagnosis and finding appropriate treatment.
All those who use the service are assigned a dedicated mental health nurse who can support them in putting together a treatment plan.
It is an extension of the Best Doctors service, which is available to MLC Life Insurance customers.
The Canstar Research judging panel was impressed that the Mental Health Navigator service was available for free to customers and their immediate families, independent of making a claim.
Nexus Mutual – Home Saver
Nexus Mutual’s Home Saver savings account was recognised for helping customers save for a home loan in an innovative way, while also passing on extra discounts on their mortgage costs if customers meet certain conditions.
The Home Saver account uniquely passes on home loan savings in the form of interest rate reductions on Nexus Mutual’s full home loan range if customers meet certain deposit and withdrawal requirements.
For example, if customers deposit at least $100 into the account every calendar month, and don’t make any withdrawals, they will see a discount of 0.30% for the amount of qualifying months the account is held for.
So, if you have five qualifying months, you receive five months of 0.30% per annum discount on your home loan.
The Canstar Research judging panel found Home Saver could incentivise and reward home buyers who start saving for a home deposit early, and the potential to unlock considerable savings once they are in their new home.
P&N Bank – Instant card provisioning/Virtual Cards Controls
Canstar Research found P&N Bank’s instant digital card was the only service in the market that offers a digital debit card linked to a transaction account that works instantly for both new and existing customers.
P&N customers who open a transaction account can view and use their digital debit card straight away, rather than waiting for a physical card to arrive in the mail.
Customers can set up their instant digital card attached to their transaction account and add it to their phone’s digital wallet.
Canstar’s Research judging panel believes P&N Bank’s instant digital card has set the standard for all other major financial institutions to follow as the demand for quick and convenient banking grows.
Petcover – Exotic, Rare and Unusual Pet Insurance
Petcover’s Exotic, Rare and Unusual Pet Insurance was recognised as a new and unique insurance offering for people who own pets other than your classic ‘cat and dog’.
The insurance has three cover options for birds, reptiles, turtles and small mammals for items such as veterinary fees, alternative treatments, diagnostic examinations and third-party liability.
It has benefits of up to $6,000, and up to $4,000 for small mammals.
The Canstar Research judging panel was impressed by Petcover offering insurance to a previously uninsured portion of the market, and for such a broad range of exotic pets.
Sunsuper – Beam
Canstar has awarded Sunsuper’s Beam tool for being the only service currently in the market to integrate a ‘clearing house’ into a business’s existing payroll platforms.
Beam uses clearing house technology but with a new level of service, allowing employers to make a single online payment for superannuation contributions to all employees’ nominated super funds.
Contributions are automatically calculated and tracked through the employee’s recorded pay details.
Employers receive payment notifications to track contributions, showing when they have been debited, cleared and forwarded to super funds.
By providing upfront validation before payments are submitted, Beam is able to reduce exceptions and provide clear visibility of payment history.
The Canstar Research judging panel was impressed by the opportunity this tool could create to eliminate duplication of work in superannuation payment processing, freeing up the workload for payroll staff and becoming a valuable piece of technology to small businesses.
Westpac – Westpac’s voice banking suite
Westpac’s voice-activated banking was recognised for the innovative use of voice technology to allow customers to check account balances, transaction history and make payments.
The services are an extension of Westpac’s mobile banking app and enabled through partnerships with Amazon’s Alexa voice services, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri voice assistant.
Customers are able to use the service to check account balances, recent spending history, reward points status and make payments.
The Canstar Research judging panel was impressed that customers could make voice-activated payments with this technology, setting Westpac’s submission apart from other banks embracing voice-activated banking functionality with their own solutions.
How did Canstar assess winners of the 2019 Innovation Excellence Awards?
Each nominated financial product or service was assessed on the degree of innovation, such as how unique and disruptive it was in the past year.
The impact on customers was also analysed, such as how many people can use the product or service, its affordability and ease of use and to what extent the innovation improves or affects a consumer’s daily life.
For more information about how Canstar’s 2019 Innovation Excellence Awards were calculated, please view the award methodology.
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