Bank of Queensland has expanded its partnership with Europe-based tech provider Temenos to roll out a new banking platform for customers.

Under the plan, Temenos will develop a fully digitised, cloud-based banking platform aimed at halving the number of BoQ’s technology applications and reducing complexity as well as overall spending across the bank.

BoQ has already worked with Temenos since 2020 to move its savings and transactions accounts to a new cloud-based core platform. The Brisbane-based regional lender operates more than 160 branches across the country.

BoQ managing director George Frazis in April credited the bank’s transformation and digitisation programs initiated in 2020 with helping deliver a 14 per cent lift in net profit for the half-year to February.

These also aided new product launches, and getting a single platform in place would also improve the bank’s cost base, he said at the time.

The lender has gained valuable experience by offering a number of financial products through its Virgin Money Australia application since May last year.

It also launched its new mobile banking app, myBOQ, in April this year, allowing customers better control over their finances.

“Our new apps are helping us to attract a growing number of new and younger customers, and 95 per cent of VMA customers and 45 per cent of BOQ customers who have signed up with the VMA and MyBOQ app are new to the bank,” it said on Monday.

Meanwhile, BoQ has also been bedding down its $1.3 billion acquisition of the online-based ME Bank, and is forecasting synergy benefits to increase.

The bank said a combined four million transactions for VMA and MyBoQ have already been processed through its cloud-based core platform.

Prashant Mehra
(Australian Associated Press)