The Co-operative Bank in Wellington.
Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
The highly rated but small Co-operative Bank is replacing its banking system as it looks to scale up and take on the big four.
The bank said the replacement of the system would happen over the next three years, with the cost in the tens of millions, although it would not be drawn to an exact figure.
The bank, often highly rated in consumer surveys, said replacing the bank’s core technology platform would help it innovate faster and introduce more digital features to its more than 180,000 customers.
It chose UK-based 10x Banking to lead the replacement of the system.
The Co-op Bank’s chief executive Mark Wilkshire said the investment in a modern, cloud-based system would put it ahead of its competition, and allow it to grow.
“It gives us the ability to scale up with good infrastructure and good systems to do that,” Wilkshire said.
“And that is our opportunity – to convert that market leading customer preference that we’ve got… be able to scale up and turn that into growth.”
Wilkshire said the investment had been part of its long-term planning.
“Banks around the world are grappling with how to replace legacy systems,” he said.
“As a small New Zealand bank, we have the advantage of being nimble and we’re aiming to implement the latest core banking technology over the next three years.”
The bank said the new platform would allow it to simplify its product offering, and respond faster to customer needs.
“Our current system has served us well, but banking is changing fast,” Wilkshire said.
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