One million users for ANZ mobile banking app

ANZ Bank's goMoney mobile banking app has reached one million active users, less than 10 years after its launch.

The app was developed in New Zealand and has been used to make almost 119 million individual transactions in the 12 months to September 2019. It was launched in 2011.

ANZ released iBank, a mobile banking app under the National Bank brand in 2008. iBank was one of the first native iOS mobile banking apps in the world.

According to the bank, the app has long overtaken internet banking as the preferred way for customers to access banking online. There were almost 45 million goMoney logins in August 2019 compared with 10 million internet banking logins in the same month.

ANZ head of digital and transformation Liz Maguire says the app had changed a lot since its launch.

"It continues to be expanded and improved as customers become more savvy about banking on their phones," she says.

"When we first launched a banking app, we weren't sure how customers were going to take to it. At the time people were used to banking at a branch or on their computer. When we reached 10,000 active users that was a big deal," Maguire explains.

"But as mobiles have become more integrated into our lives, we've seen a swing away from branches and online to mobile banking," she says.

When it launched, ANZ goMoney focused on allowing customers to make payments. Today, the app lets customers register for Apple Pay and Google Pay, receive banking alerts and manage cards and home loans.

"Customers now expect to have more control over their finances via their phone, and we've continued to evolve goMoney so it provides the information, functions, security and ease of use that individual and business customers need," says Maguire.

"That evolution will continue. For example, we're starting work on integrating our digital assistant, Jamie, into goMoney so she can help with simple customer queries," she explains.

"Having a platform of this size and engagement is incredibly powerful, especially as open banking becomes more established," Maguire adds.

"It means that in the future our customers will be able to see a more complete picture of their finances in goMoney, it will be easier to manage bill payments across vendors, and it'll be easier to share banking data safely."

The history of ANZ mobile banking:

- iBank, built for The National Bank, was released in 2008.

- ANZ NZ-specific goMoney app was released in 2011, still only for iOS.

- ANZ released its first Android banking app in 2012.

- ANZ became the first bank to offer Apple Pay to New Zealand customers in 2016.

- ANZ goMoney reached one million active users in 2019.