Macquarie Bank speeds up digital customer onboarding

Macquarie Bank said its investments in cloud and digital infrastructure had enabled it to reduce the amount of time needed to open a digital account to "under a minute".

The bank said that the timeframe covered "applying for a transaction and savings account", full identity verification, "immediate access to Macquarie’s mobile and online banking applications, [and] a debit card ... instantly loaded onto a customers’ Apple or Google wallet".

It credited long-term investments in cloud-based infrastructure for its ability to stand up and refine the digital onboarding experience.

Macquarie Bank’s head of deposits and payments Olivia McArdle said it had been able to “reimagine the account opening experience”.

“Many banks still require customers to visit a branch or wait days for the physical card to arrive in the mail," McArdle said.

The bank said the capabilities went live a month ago alongside the launch of Macquarie’s new feature which allows up to 10 offset accounts to be linked to a home loan “with just one click”.

Macquarie Bank’s chief digital officer Luis Uguina said the bank has “set out to provide the kinds of experiences you might expect from a fintech, but with the security of a bank”.

“With this in mind, we’ve built our own security app, Macquarie Authenticator, which gives customers real-time control to approve or deny transactions and account changes.”