CBA adds digital travel and vehicle features

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has added digital travel and vehicle features to its consumer banking mobile app.

The major bank said on Thursday it made its travel booking and car buying services available through its banking app.

CBA said the decision follows the integration of More Telecom into the app last November to assist its customers save on telecommunication services.

According to the bank’s data, over 8.5 million customers are now regularly using the CommBank app with consumers reaching for the app more than 42 times per month, up from around 15 times a month in 2014.

CommBank’s executive general manager of customer engagement and digital Meg Bonighton said, “Cost of living is understandably top of mind for many of our customers and having an extended line of sight into key expenses, saving goals, budgets, and investments all in one place can help them feel more on top of their finances.”

“Travel and car buying are typically major purchases, and our aim is to make these experiences more seamless and secure for our customers, as well as helping them save money where we can through a number of exclusive deals,” Bonighton said.

Eligible customers can now access the ‘travel booking’ function to find, book and pay for flights and accommodation.

Meanwhile, the bank’s retail and small business customers can now source, finance and manage their next car via the CommBank banking app.

The feature allows users to search through car listings from carsales and Vyro plus offer deals from manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs).

CBA said this would allow its customer to gain conditional approval for personalised finance and filter by options in their budget with loan repayment amounts displayed during their car hunt.

CommBank executive general manager of consumer finance Marcos Meneguzzi said, “Our car loan numbers are up 29 percent over the past year and loans for hybrid or electric vehicles are up by 45 percent.

“That’s why we’re working with carsales and Vyro to launch a car buying service that delivers more value for customers.”

“After a customer purchases a car through the CommBank app or Netbank, they’ll be able to house all the financial and ancillary services to do with the car – such as insurance or home charging solutions – in one place in the CommBank app,” Meneguzzi said.

Alongside the new features include the ability for CBA app users to potentially find mobile and NBN services.

Bonighton said one data point the bank identified was “the challenges customers face with their internet and mobile bills, which, relative to other parts of the world, are very expensive in Australia.”

“This finding was one of the reasons we launched our strategic partnership with More Telecom in 2021 to offer our customers discounted NBN and mobile services,” Bonighton said.

According to the bank, in the three years since more than 200,000 CommBank customers have joined More Telecom.

Bonighton added, “Just as our partnership with More has done, we anticipate our travel booking and car buying services will deliver incredible value back to our customers and recognise them for banking with us.”