Logo of Innovation Award

2023 Innovation Excellence Awards

Canstar’s Innovation Excellence Awards showcase a selection of cutting-edge financial products and services that are helping Australian consumers. We reveal what made this year’s Award-winning products stand out in the current market and why they were selected by the judges.

See the Canstar Blue Innovation Excellence Award winners here.

Release: 6 April, 2023

2023 Innovation Excellence Award Winners

Australian Retirement Trust

AMP logo

HSBC-logo

Suncorp-logo

About Canstar’s 2023 Innovation Excellence Awards

How did we decide on the winners?

Institutions in the Australian financial services industry were invited to submit their product or service innovations that were brought to market within the past 12 months.

All submissions and nominations for the 2023 Innovation Excellence Awards were judged and assessed by Canstar’s expert Research Committee according to a sophisticated ratings methodology that’s unique to Canstar.

How are the 2023 Innovation Excellence Awards calculated?

Guided by Canstar’s unique and sophisticated methodology, Canstar’s Research Team evaluated each submission and nomination.

Products assessed were measured and calculated against two factors:

Degree of innovation: 

  • How different and unique is the product?
  • How disruptive is the innovation within the current market?
  • And finally the ‘WOW’ factor to impress the judges.

Impact:

  • How many customers could benefit?
  • What’s the affordability of the product and ease of use?
  • And how will it improve and affect a consumer’s daily life?

All these factors are scored based on a rating from one to five and then weighted to produce a final score. The degree of innovation is weighted at 40% and a product’s impact is weighted at 60%.

You can learn more about the evaluation and calculation process details in the methodology.

Congratulations to the 2023 Innovation Excellence Awards winners

(Winners are listed alphabetically)

Australian Retirement Trust
Lifetime Pension

Australian Retirement Trust’s Lifetime Pension has been designed to tackle the possibility that one might outlive their savings, a key concern for people both approaching and in retirement. Developed to work in conjunction with other retirement products, the Lifetime Pension provides members with a tax-free, fortnightly income for life, with the potential to increase it over time. Lifetime Pension was assessed to be a market-leading innovation due to the unique way they allow members to access their retirement savings without worrying about their savings running out.

This innovation from ART was deemed to have a significant impact on retiring members. The Lifetime Pension represents a shift from accumulation to focusing on retirement needs and may inspire other super funds to follow in their lead.

AMP
MyNorth Lifetime

AMP’s MyNorth Lifetime is available to advisors through the MyNorth wrap platform. It aims to provide a higher rate of income to retirees by combining the flexibility of an account-based pension with the lifetime cashflow feature of annuities. Customers are also paid an annual bonus into the account.

As the product pairs increased income security for members with the flexibility to tailor the product to a client’s specific objectives, it was deemed as highly likely to have a significant impact on members’ lives. It was assessed as highly unique to the market with a considerable ‘wow’ factor.

HSBC
HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card

HSBC’s Star Alliance Credit Card offers cardholders the flexibility to redeem rewards points with a range of airlines as well as access to more than 1000 airline lounges.

Star Alliance Credit Card provides cardholders with the opportunity to earn Star Alliance Gold Status by reaching certain card spend levels. This status offers access to airport lounges and other benefits across all 26 Star Alliance member airlines. Cardholders also earn uncapped Star Alliance Points, which can be converted for use in seven partner airlines’ frequent flyer programs. The Canstar judges assessed HSBC’s Star Alliance Credit Card as a unique offering with a significant ‘wow’ factor.

Suncorp Bank
Carbon Insights Account

Suncorp’s Carbon Insights Account is a fee-free, online transaction account that lets customers view their estimated carbon emissions in the Suncorp App. In partnership with footprint management fintech Cogo, the account provides customers with information to help them on their journey to reduce their own carbon footprint.

Canstar’s judges saw the ability for customers to view an estimate of their carbon emissions associated with their transactions as highly innovative and unique, which brought a considerable ‘wow’ factor. Suncorp’s Carbon Insight Account was deemed to be highly likely to have a significant impact on customers, empowering them with easy-to-understand insights into their spending so that they can make more informed decisions in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

Verve Super
Verve Support Squad

As part of its commitment to helping women build wealth, Verve Super has introduced a ‘Support Squad’ program that provides personalised coaching sessions for members. These sessions can enhance members’ overall financial knowledge, as well as offer professional guidance during significant life events, such as family and career transitions, salary negotiations, separation or divorce.

Key life moments encountered by women can negatively impact their retirement savings, contributing to the ‘super saving gender gap’. That’s why Verve’s Support Squad program was seen by Canstar’s judges as a unique and market-leading innovation. The program seeks to offer support and address issues that can stem from circumstances such as divorce and separation, time away from paid work to care for children, and the years it can take women to rebuild their careers when they re-enter the workforce.

Does Canstar rate other products?

 

 

About Canstar

Canstar also has insights and information about financial products and services generally. You can find out about topics such as: interest ratesbuy now pay later (BNPL)business products and tax. You may also be interested in discovering more about calculators and resources, such as our rate checker and free credit score tool, to help you with your financial decision-making.


About: Josh Sale, Ratings Manager

Headshot of Josh Sale, Canstar

Bachelor of Commerce, Economics/Finance dual major, Griffith University. Master of Data Science, Strategy and Leadership, RMIT (ongoing studies)

Joshua Sale is responsible for developing the methodology and delivering Canstar’s flagship Star Ratings, as part of Canstar’s Research team. With tertiary qualifications in economics and finance, he enjoys helping Australians find more suitable financial products by transforming complex calculations into a consumer-friendly Star Rating that explains the values and benefits of different financial products.

As one of Canstar’s company spokespeople, Joshua has participated in print, radio and broadcast interviews with the likes of the Australian Financial Review, news.com.au and Money magazine, along with other leading media outlets, discussing topics such as home loan equity, banking incentive schemes, digital wallets and wider finance trends.

Joshua is known for his ability to simplify complex products and technical information, crunching the data into meaningful insights for consumers about finance. He has analysed several consumer markets across banking, insurance and wealth, and is keenly interested in various topics, ranging from how Australians interact with their superannuation funds, to the dynamic nature of the health insurance market, and collecting and redeeming credit card reward points.

Joshua believes that knowledge is the first step towards empowerment. Even while studying, he facilitated peer-assisted study sessions for economics, and represented his University’s Business School in an academic committee.

You can follow Josh on LinkedIn, and Canstar on Twitter and Facebook.


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FAQs

Who decides the winners for Canstar’s Star Ratings and Awards?

Canstar’s expert researchers review the overall value offered by a provider for its products in a financial services category. We consider metrics such as price and costs against features and functionality, with all of the competitors in a category compared using Canstar’s unique research methodology. The products or providers recognised as winners are those that offer the highest overall value proposition.


What other awards does Canstar give?

In addition to Canstar’s Star Ratings that appear in our comparison tables, Canstar gives Outstanding Value Awards that identify providers with high-performing products. Separately, Canstar’s Customer Satisfaction Awards reveal how content customers are with a particular financial institution or insurance provider.


What are Canstar’s Outstanding Value Awards?

Canstar recognises financial institutions with annual Awards for outstanding value across a wide range of product categories. These Awards are given to the providers whose products are the strongest overall performers in our Star Ratings over the award period.


What are Canstar’s Customer Satisfaction Awards?

Canstar’s Customer Satisfaction Awards are for providers, recognising institutions with the most satisfied customers overall based on consumer surveys.


How does Canstar work out award-winning brands and providers?

As Australia’s biggest financial comparison site*, Canstar compares more than 775 brands across more than 30 finance categories. Each of Canstar’s Star Ratings and Awards uses a unique methodology that is brought together by our expert Research team, with products analysed based on price and features. The top 10% of products are recognised with a 5-Star Rating. You can find out more about how Canstar’s value-based rating system works.


Who can I contact for a media enquiry about Canstar’s Star Ratings?

For media enquiries, commentary or analysis about Canstar’s Star Ratings and Awards, including our Outstanding Value Awards or Customer Satisfaction Awards, please contact our Corporate Affairs team.


Thanks for visiting Canstar, Australia’s biggest financial comparison site*