Geelong Bank is a customer-owned bank based in Geelong, Victoria. It was founded in 1974 as the Ford Co-Operative Credit Society (FCCS). As the name suggests, it initially served employees of Ford, one of Geelong's largest employers at the time, and their families. Showing an early commitment to convenience, they established agencies in Ford's three Geelong-based plants to give employees easy access to a full suite of banking services.
In 1990, a merger with a Geelong-based credit union saw FCCS open up its membership beyond just Ford Employees. Following the closure of Ford's manufacturing operations in 2016, FFCS underwent a rebrand to reimagine its future as a bank for the wider Geelong community and beyond. This led to a rebrand and a name change to Geelong Bank in 2018. Geelong Bank's tagline - "Where we grow" - highlights a dedication to the shared prosperity of its owner-customers and the communities they are part of.
In 2024, Geelong Bank celebrated its 50th anniversary. In tandem with the value of customer convenience it has held since its inception, it sought to revamp its digital banking solutions.
Driving the decision to upgrade was a desire to provide best-in-class digital banking solutions to its customers, who were overwhelmingly switching their banking habits to digital channels.
Geelong Bank CEO Vivien Allen noted that the COVID-19 pandemic intensified the trend towards digital banking.
"When we rebranded to Geelong Bank, we focused on business development. Most people still considered us a bank for employees of the old Ford plants. We went to the market as a bank for everyone.
The pandemic created a lot of opportunity for us. People were sitting at home doing all their banking digitally and actively searching for better offers from their financial institutions. That environment led to more people turning to smaller banks like ours for more competitive offerings. We had an influx of new customers, not just from Geelong but all-around Australia."
Reflecting on the lessons learnt and opportunities unlocked by COVID-19, it was clear there would be no going back to how things were. Michelle Battye, Geelong Bank's Lending Operations & IT Manager, believes the pandemic accelerated Geelong Bank's evolution.
"Pre-COVID, we had a lot more foot traffic than we do now, without a doubt. Although we had digital channels back then, we didn't push our customers towards them. COVID made us do that."
At the start of the pandemic, Geelong Bank set up a help desk at its branch, where Member Service Officers would sit down with customers to guide them through setting up and using their Internet and mobile banking. Member Service Officers would also guide customers through how to use the app and Internet banking solutions for tasks they would previously rely on face-to-face service to do - such as transferring money, setting up regular payments and checking account balances.
Geelong Bank sought to upgrade its Ultracs core banking environment as its existing digital banking solutions reached end-of-life. They began with the underlying infrastructure, upgrading their core banking system to Ultracs 5.1. This enabled subsequent upgrades of its Internet banking solution to My Viewpoint 3 (Release 4) and its mobile banking solution to Ultracs App 2 (Release 3).
According to Vivien, these upgrades were a strategic decision to continue Geelong Bank's growth trajectory and build on the momentum gained from the great switch to digital banking.
"Post-COVID, the environment has become more challenging as we grapple with rising interest rates and cost of living increases.
When addressing the end-of-life considerations, we wanted to offer our customers a contemporary banking experience that strengthens and future-proofs our offering to current and prospective customers.
We all appreciate face-to-face customer service, which we still love to do. But focusing on anything but digital puts a limit on your growth".
The upgrade to My Viewpoint 3 offers Geelong Bank customers a simpler, more intuitive way to bank online.
The key features Geelong Bank can now offer its customers as a result of the upgrade include:
Overall, the most important part of the upgrade, according to Vivien, was the new look and user interface improvements, which increased engagement with online banking among Geelong Bank's customers.
"The user interface has become more intuitive. Although the app is our most popular digital banking channel, we've found that the upgrades encourage people to use Internet banking as an alternative to coming into the branch for more significant banking tasks such as making larger transactions - because it's easier".
Ultracs App 2 delivers a leading mobile banking experience. It is designed to meet the needs of a new generation of consumers who expect to do most of their banking on an app without limitations on how they bank.
For Geelong Bank, the new app includes several features that were previously only available to customers via Internet banking. According to Vivien, a vital element of the new app's success has been its improved design and the resulting impact on user experience."
"The app is a lot cleaner and easy to use, which is a feature in itself. It makes everyday tasks, like making payments easier, increasing customers' confidence to use our app."
Geelong Bank's new digital banking solutions are working as intended. Vivien has noticed customers embracing their internet and mobile banking’s new look and features.
"We have had a lot of great feedback on our new solutions, particularly our mobile app.
Most customers, even if they prefer to come in, know they can do their banking on the app, Internet banking, or both. And that's good because it gives them options and contributes to a better customer experience".
As a small institution, Geelong Bank's in-house team relies heavily on its technology partners to deliver on its strategic projects. Looking back on the upgrade project, Vivien credits the support and advice Geelong Bank received from Ultradata as integral to their decision-making.
"There were a number of factors, particularly our limited resources, that led us to choose to remain on 4.3 and go straight to 5.1.
Moving from Ultracs 4.3 to 5.1 was a huge change, but Ultradata supported us along the way and made sure the upgrade, despite its significance, did not impact our customers and their everyday banking needs."
Through the project, Ultradata's technology expertise kept Geelong Bank on track.
"We've worked with Ultradata for a long time and have built a solid relationship with the team. Ultradata has also facilitated effective collaboration with the third parties that power our banking infrastructure."
With enhanced digital banking infrastructure, Geelong Bank is free to focus on key strategic initiatives designed to drive new business development. With a community-focused, customer-centric ethos driving its small - but growing - team forward, the future is bright at Geelong Bank.