ANZ Bank New Zealand has selected financial technology provider FIS to modernise its core banking capabilities. According to the company press release, ANZ New Zealand will be the first bank outside the US to utilise FIS’ Modern Banking Platform, which is deployed on Microsoft Azure.

FIS’ Modern Banking Platform enables digital banking services through a cloud-native architecture. The platform is a secure core banking solution aimed to protect data while employing cloud security and monitoring features from Azure. ANZ cited data provided by Cloud Security Alliance showing that 91% of financial institutions are using cloud services today or planning to soon, yet traditional brick and mortar banks have been slower to move the core of their operations, core banking capabilities, into the cloud.

FIS Modern Banking Platform is designed with API-first functionality with plug-and-play components that enable institutions to build up-to-date retail and commercial capabilities. FIS officials have explained that ”cloud-based systems have quickly moved from a competitive advantage to the baseline of what makes a successful bank. Cloud-based core banking will enable banks to increase their speed to market and become more agile.

We believe ANZ New Zealand is just the beginning of a huge industry trend to drive digital transformation through the cloud. ” ANZ New Zealand’s current Systematics core banking technology is also supplied by FIS. ANZ recent partnerships and activity After debuting in Australia, at the beginning of 2022, Open Banking provider Bud has teamed with ANZ NZ to automate more of its lending, according to AltFi reports from February.

ASIC fraud allegations At the end of May, The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has taken Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Bank) to court for allegedly misleading customers regarding their available funds and balances in their credit card accounts. According to the Australian regulator, over 165,000 ANZ customers were charged cash advance fees and interest for transferring or withdrawing money from their credit card accounts, based on incorrect account balance, from 2016 to 2018. Moreover, ANZ has not adequately address or fix the issue, continuing to affect clients on the bank’s website, app, and ATMs.

M&A activity and product upgrades In March 2022, ANZ had re-merged its digital and retail divisions into one unit, as the bank got closer to launching its customer-facing app, ANZ Plus. The news was shortly followed by reports of Worldline signing its strategic commercial acquiring alliance with ANZ Bank in Australia. Payments operator Worldline also announced the creation of a 51%-49% joint-venture controlled by Worldline to operate and develop commercial acquiring services in Australia with ANZ Bank.

More recently, over the course of July 2022, ANZ has agreed to a USD 3. 3 billion deal to acquire insurer Suncorp’s banking arm in a bid to boost the size of its mortgage book and found itself among the three of the ‘Big Four’ Australian banks that have turned to dynamic card verification value (CVV) functionality to combat online payment fraud and boost digital consumer protections. .