(2 May 2019 – Australia) ANZ has completed the roll out of its 'New Ways of Working' programme to Australian technology staff, converting 9000 team members to agile development.
In 2017 the bank announced plans to follow the lead taken by top tech companies such as Google and Spotify in removing middle management in IT and transitioning to an agile self-directed approach to new product development.
At the time, the bank said it was using agile methodologies to deliver around 20% of technology and digital projects including initiatives such as Apple Pay. The New Ways of Working program was introduced to roll out the process across its entire Australian business.
Announcing the completion of the program during the bank's half-yearly results presentation, CEO Shayn Elloitt said: “We're right in the middle — or maybe we're only at the beginning — of this huge transformation happening in our industry. Now, mostly we talk about technology and data and all of those things but the reality is customer expectations are rising, regulatory scrutiny is increasing, there's just going to be a whole new range of competitors — some of them are setting up as we speak — and we've got to get ready for that.”
The bank claims to have processed 88 million transactions in the last 12 months via its digital wallet, with total customer spend up 114 percent in that same period.
The results presentation also highlighted the benefits of machine learning technologies in ANZ's institutional business, where the introduction of robotic automation processes had helped reduce turnaround times by up to 40 percent in trade, credit and customer services.