ANZ steps up Plus platform push and migration, despite being on corporate regulator’s radar

The bank will ramp up the information flow about its Plus platform next month, even as it remains the subject of several regulatory probes involving its retail unit.

ANZ’s head of retail banking Maile Carnegie will address investors and analysts in a second Plus briefing on March 24. Picture: Jeremy Piper

ANZ will ramp up the information flow about its lower-cost digital platform Plus at two investor and analyst briefings next month, even as the bank remains the subject of several regulatory probes involving its broader retail division.

ANZ — which is being led by outgoing chief executive Shayne Elliott until July when his successor Nuno Matos takes over — has informed stakeholders of the briefings, the first of which is scheduled for March 4. A bank spokesman on Monday confirmed the events were taking place.

The first will be led by ANZ managing director of Plus and digital Mohamed Khalil and provide an update about the new banking platform, the technology underpinning it, and how it can be leveraged in the future.

Mr Elliott last updated investors on Plus’s progress when he handed down the bank’s full-year results last year. The results showed, for the year ended September 30, ANZ had 850,000 customers on Plus, up almost 84 per cent on the prior 12 month period.

About 48 per cent of those customers were new to ANZ, while the rest migrated from the bank’s existing platforms.

The March updates will be keenly watched by investors and analysts given Plus will be the only way a customer can join ANZ from 2027, and as a complete migration away from the bank’s legacy platforms takes place. It’s a big task given less than one-in-five ANZ customers were using Plus at September 30.

The first Plus briefing for 2025 comes after the domestic banking sector endured heavy selling by investors last week as they more intensely questioned the outlook for earnings and net interest margins after the Reserve Bank embarked on an interest rate easing cycle.

The big four banks’ shares all gained on Monday, however, with ANZ’s stock climbing 2.6 per cent to close at $29.55. It outpaced a 0.1 per cent rise on the S&P/ASX200.

ANZ Plus was launched in 2022 as a digital platform able to acquire customers at a notably lower cost than the bank’s legacy systems. It faced staunch criticism at the time, as ANZ unveiled it with little functionality.

The functionality has stepped up, though, with a range of deposit products and tools, joint accounts and mortgage refinancing now available. But, new mortgage applications are not yet able to be processed through Plus, as ANZ builds out its functionality.

The platform also angered some customers in October when ANZ imposed minimum monthly deposit amounts on a Plus account, meaning customers had to make the deposit before qualifying for a higher rate of interest.

The step-up of the Plus platform comes as the bank faces investigations by the corporate regulator. Picture: Damian Shaw

ANZ’s second March investor and analyst briefing will be spearheaded by head of the retail bank Maile Carnegie, and also includes input from Mr Khalil and general manager of customer migration Christine Linden.

The March 24 briefing will provide further detail on the Plus strategy, new features and customer migration.

Next week’s briefing comes, however, as ANZ’s retail division is the subject of investigations by the corporate regulator, including a probe into allegations the bank incorrectly calculated interest on thousands of savings ­accounts.

The Australian last month revealed ANZ had tapped McKinsey to conduct work and assist executives in the retail bank to strengthen its processes in light of the issues.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is delving into whether ANZ wrongly calculated and incorrectly paid bonus and regular interest on some of its savings and deposit accounts.

The regulator’s investigations separately include trawling through ANZ’s hardship provisions given concerns about how the bank is engaging with customers.

ASIC is also assessing allegations ANZ wrongly charged fees to dead customers’ ­accounts, in some cases after already being informed of the person’s passing. The regulator is seeking to ascertain whether there are systemic governance issues within ANZ’s retail unit, at the same time it looks into claims of irregular trading activity by the bank’s markets employees in the government bond market.

The prudential regulator last year slugged ANZ with a requirement to hold $250m in additional capital due to its poor handling of non-financial risks after revelations about its markets team came to light.

That was on top of a $500m capital overlay imposed by APRA in 2019 following the Hayne royal commission.

Originally published as ANZ steps up Plus platform push and migration, despite being on corporate regulator’s radar