Australians are increasingly turning to digital banking. This shift has accelerated in the past year and has been fueled by COVID-19 restrictions and the closure of many traditional bank branches.
To meet this increasing demand, and stand out in a competitive market, Canstar Research noted that providers need to be able to offer their customers flexibility and support in meeting their online and mobile banking service needs.
Canstar’s Online and Mobile Banking Awards recognise the top performing institutions in this area. As part of the Awards, Canstar Research has assessed 80 institutions based on the array of features offered through their online and mobile banking platforms. This included considering functionality for payments and transactions, research and application, security, banking assistance and support.
After crunching the numbers, Canstar has awarded two institutions both Online and Mobile Banking Awards. Both providers stood out for their varied support capability and their suite of account management and budgeting tools.
Bank of the Year – Online and Mobile Banking – Commonwealth Bank
Commonwealth Bank has won Canstar’s separate Bank of the Year Awards for Online Banking and Mobile Banking. CommBank has won the Online Banking Award each year since 2010, making this the bank’s 12th consecutive win. It also has won the Mobile Banking Award since 2016, when the Award was introduced, making this its sixth consecutive win.
Canstar Research recognised CommBank for being at the forefront of innovation and development when it comes to their online banking platform. The major bank continues to make features that are purposeful and helpful to their customers, such as its budgeting tools, and this helped them secure this year’s Awards.
CommBank’s online banking is offered through NetBank, which is best accessed through a laptop or desktop computer. Through NetBank, CommBank says customers can see a ‘big picture’ overview of their finances, as well as day-to-day details.
CommBank’s mobile banking is mainly provided through the CommBank app. Customers can do their day-to-day banking through the app and can access various tools. For example, customers can access Spend Tracker, a tool that categorises their transactions, and Bill Sense, a tool that predicts bills and manages regular payments and subscriptions. Customers can also access Ceba, CommBank’s digital banking assistant, through NetBank and the CommBank app.
Customer Owned Bank of the Year – Online and Mobile Banking – Beyond Bank
Beyond Bank has also retained both its Customer Owned Bank of the Year Awards for Online Banking and Mobile Banking. This is the seventh year in a row that Beyond Bank has won the Online Banking Award and the sixth year in a row that it has won the Mobile Banking Award.
According to Canstar Research, Beyond Bank excelled in their customer service offering. For example, the bank offers an online live chat functionality, access to a secure email address on site and a dedicated call centre. Canstar Research also highlighted Beyond Bank’s extensive online budgeting tools and calculators.
Beyond Bank offers online banking through its Internet Banking portal. Through this service, customers can manage their accounts, make payments and manage their card. They can also access Beyond Bank’s Beyond Finance Manager, a budgeting tool that customers can use to track their money and set savings goals.
Beyond Bank offers mobile banking through the Beyond Bank Australia app. Customers can access a range of features through the app. For example, customers can manage their account, make transfers, manage their card and set up various alerts.
For more information about how the Awards are determined, read Canstar’s methodology document.
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This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Jacqueline Belesky and Finance and Lifestyle Editor Shay Waraker before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.
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