St George Bank is testing the use of Bluetooth LE technology to send a welcome message and personalised information directly to a customer’s iPhone when they enter a branch.

The pilot in three Sydney branches is the start of a long-term plan to deliver what the bank says will be a “dramatic” change in customer service across Australia.

“The future of business will be in the ability to anticipate customers’ needs, understand what matters to them and act on that knowledge to surprise and delight them,” says George Frazis, CEO of St George Banking Group.

“Our investment in iBeacon will help us to achieve that — and it has the potential to dramatically change the service experience in Australian banking.”

Dhiren Kulkarni, chief information officer of the Westpac-owned bank, adds the trial with iBeacon is a first step to “explore how closely we can integrate the technology into our branches to deliver a new level of customer service”.

“Once we have completed the trial,” he says, “we will review the results and plan how we can roll out nationally.”