Commonwealth Bank has transformed business banking to help small to large enterprises face emerging challenges and opportunities
Australian businesses, small to large, form the backbone of our national economy. They face increasing pressure from overseas counterparts, new influences from technology, and an increasing requirement to change and innovate as they compete with other businesses in their industries.
In the face of these shifting business challenges and opportunities, the traditional ‘accounts and loans’ model of business banking for small to mediums businesses has dramatically evolved.
It is now a modern, strategic partnership driven by business data and industry expertise, as well as innovative tools and services relating to banking needs and broader business insights. The modern business banker at Commonwealth Bank is a partner who can offer guidance as businesses position themselves for growth and change.
Are our businesses ready to face the future?
This year, Commonwealth Bank has been asking Australians questions to better understand what challenges and opportunities we see ahead.
With our website and ATMs across Australia, Commonwealth Bank has been asking all Australians the question – ‘are our businesses ready to face the future’?
From the 175,000 responses received to date in this nationwide survey, Australia is almost 50/50 on whether Australian businesses are ready to face the future, with variations by State and the Northern Territory the most positive.
Younger generations in the survey are less optimistic, with only 44 per cent of respondents under 35 believing Australian businesses are ready. This compares to 64 per cent of over 65 year old respondents.
The changing role of the business bank
In this new context, being a strong business bank is about understanding more than just the financials; it’s understanding and supporting the ways in which our customers can make themselves competitive in their respective industries, how they can innovate and grow their operations to respond to changes, and how all of this drives value for them and our broader economy.
So we’re doing many things beyond traditional banking.
We now provide businesses with the sorts of tools and analytical business data that just weren’t available even a decade ago, giving them access to highly sophisticated yet easy to use analytics and banking products.
Examples of this include our nation-leading Daily IQ business and markets insights platform which has scenario and predictive capability, our world leading app-based and wireless payments device Albert, and our innovation labs that use smart thinkers and technology solutions to meet head-on challenges and opportunities.
We’ve invested heavily to leverage our expertise in financial data, innovation and industry knowledge to build this into the way we now guide and advise our clients. We’re putting these insights into our clients’ hands to give them the edge to better understand their customers, their industries, and to plan for the future.
21 Days of Change Challenge
In light of the national findings, that Australia is almost 50/50 on whether they are ready to face the future, Commonwealth Bank is currently running a '21 Day Change Challenge' for businesses. You can follow a structured program, by downloading a toolkit from our website. The program is just one focus a week over three weeks, to implement a customer-informed change in your business.
It’s an abbreviated version of the design thinking process our clients are taken through in the Innovation Labs and, is an internationally recognised program for addressing business issues.
We encourage you to take a look at the ‘21 Day Change Challenge’ on our website and speak to us if we can help be a part of that journey. Because, we’re here to partner with you to explore new opportunities and tackle change together.
By Gary McGrath
