ANZ sees fivefold increase in digital channel use

ANZ Banking Group has seen a fivefold increase in the number of its retail customers interacting with it through digital channels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott said in a post on LinkedIn the figure now sits at 25 percent of retail customers using digital channels compared to just 5 percent pre-coronavirus.

“We will see what the future brings but early indications tell us that shift to digital will endure,” Elliott said.

The change in customer behaviour mirrors ANZ’s own experiences with being forced to innovate during the dual challenges of a health crisis and economic downturn.

Elliott said the bank has experienced more change in the last few weeks than in his previous four years as CEO - an experience that has effectively ‘stress tested’ the organisation’s agility, values and culture.

One of the lessons to come out of the pandemic is that the company can, and should, re-evaluate the way its operations work on an enterprise and personal level.

“We’ve all had to adapt during COVID, whether at work, at home, or both.

“At ANZ, over a three week period, we enabled 50,000 of our people who would normally work from the office to work from home.”

For the bank’s management, that has required a rethink of the way it communicates with and relates to the broader organisation and how these new behaviours can be sustained for the duration of the pandemic and to ensure a more flexible and resilient organisation post-COVID.

“One of the take-outs from the 'retro' for my executive committee is ensuring we adopt and sustain new habits and change some behaviour – like using less PowerPoint - and continue to make bold decisions rapidly, even with imperfect information.”