OREANDA-NEWS. March 24, 2016. National Australia Bank today unveiled its latest customer innovations, delivered through its digital hub, NAB Labs.

In a speech to CEDA, CEO Andrew Thorburn said NAB was responding to customers’ appetite for convenience with solutions like NAB Business in One and NAB Dash, both in ‘first release’ pilot.

“At NAB we are absolutely focussed on our customers. We want to make it easier to do business with us and we are driving real and sustainable change through our business,” Mr Thorburn said.

“We are working hard to ensure that changes happen faster across the bank in a more agile way. We have to innovate with focus, creating change that will best serve our customers.”

NAB Business in One, developed in conjunction with Australian start-up Maestrano, is a cloud-based digital platform for small business customers.

It synchronises data in real-time across numerous applications – including accounting, sales customer relationship management software – into a central, customisable dashboard.

“Business in One will give small business owners the data and information they need to help them run their small business in one place. Our customers have been asking us to make it easier for them, and that’s exactly what Business in One does,” Mr Thorburn said.

NAB is also investing in new technologies to make it quicker and easier to make purchases and will next month begin a roll out of NAB Dash, a streamlined ‘order, pay, collect’ technology.

Gold Coast Suns supporters will be able to use NAB Dash to order refreshments from their seats and pay in advance at Metricon Stadium during the 2016 AFL Premiership fixture.

The application uses location-based technology to alert staff at food stands and bars when a NAB Dash user approaches the counter to collect their order, easing congestion.

“Footy fans don’t want to go to the game and spend their time lining up for food and drinks, which is why we’re giving them a way to skip the queue,” Mr Thorburn said.

“Customers want easy, fast and simple ways to pay and we will keep investing in and testing new technologies to create brilliant experiences.”

NAB today also announced a strategic alliance with the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Business School to promote and support innovation and collaboration between the business and the university sector.

The agreement will facilitate the exchange of talent and ideas between NAB Labs and the University, to support joint design and research projects.

“NAB Labs works with existing technology partners and with new start-ups, to drive change at pace and try new things,” Mr Thorburn said.

“We are disrupting our business from within, tapping into ideas and talent from both inside and outside the organisation, for the benefit of our customers.

“We are listening to what our customers are telling us they want and we are delivering for them,” he said.