Entry No.44e

IT Writers Awards

I have just concocted this grand conspiracy theory about the banks, online channels and Bob Mansfield - and I'm damn sure there is some substance to it.

Remember Bob; he of the "would you like any fries, shakes, sundaes and sauce with your nuggets?" fame and now current Telstra chairman and privatisation guru? 

The master of customer service has certainly left an indelible mark on the culture of Australia's major banks. His method is so blindingly obvious yet so utterly impossible to ignore that customers eventually crack under the weight of the "suggestive sell".

This customer service ethos has effectively permeated the psyche of those in charge of the banks' online channel strategies. There's not a banking service on the block that doesn't offer some form of cross-pollination.

Take the "what's new at ANZ" promo that takes pride of place on the bank's website. Not only do you get the chance to "register and trade with ANZ E*Trade Online Investing and win $60,000", you can also "personalise your own web page with myanz.com." But that's not all. Once you've pumped your life savings into E*Trade you can sit back and relax or fall off your chair in shock as you "track your wealth with My Portfolio - for free".

Cross-pollination at its very best! And that my friends, is just the tip of the online banking iceberg when it comes to generating customer loyalty, brand recognition and most importantly, repeat business. 

It's a scary thought, I know (although the hard-nosed banking strategists probably wouldn't share my sympathetic tones). But, your average customer could feasibly strap themselves to a PC (or a WAP phone if they need to duck off to the loo) and not leave the house for weeks in the knowledge that just about anything can be achieved using ANZ's banking portal, for example there are the old banking favourites such as banking online, applying for a home loan and investing in shares. But I'll buy you a beer if you can tell which of the following "banking services" have anything to do with banking: you can build your own website; buy a car; do the shopping; seek charities; plan your holiday; find the nearest real estate; buy CDs and toys; buy headache tablets; check your horoscope; and even buy dearest a bunch of roses to smooth over that stinking row you had last night.

I won't go on for fear that I might portray ANZ as an online shopping trolley and invite all those scurrilous connotations that it isn't making a cent out of anything but its banking services. 

Do you get the picture? Banking in the online age is not just about spruiking slick, re-badged financial solutions that highlight the cost inefficiencies of traditional services yet make little additional improvement on their bottom lines. 

It is about co-branding, partnering with third-party service providers and accessing previously unobtainable customer segments to generate new, sustainable revenue streams. 

In short, I'm not fully convinced that customers will embrace this new cultural concept and neither were many respondents to the first Asia Pacific Banking Technology survey into banking habits, which starts on page 28. The survey reveals that some customers actually prefer to keep their contact with banks to a minimum with reference to their resounding acceptance of phone banking services, such as Bpay. 

Other notable findings include a distinct lack of respondent interest in Internet banking, a high degree of satisfaction with semi-traditional ATM and EFTPOS services, and a strong warning that if Internet banking fees are charged the banks can forget about any dreams of its mass adoption.

Clearly, there is pressure on the banks to cover fading traditional revenue streams by schmoozing customers with consumer candy dressed up as communities of interest. But some of their partnerships are questionable.

Mr Mansfield certainly has plenty to answer for. J

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