Taking everyone on the digital journey

Navigating the digital world isn’t something that comes naturally to everyone.

As a Gen X-er, ANZ New Zealand’s Chief Executive Antonia Watson sits between the Boomers and the Millennials on the comfort scale.

“People have different levels of confidence, access and experience when it comes to technology and I think we need to be mindful of that as we move from the old world to the new,” Antonia says.

“I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a digital native, I can see the benefits of technology and embrace them, but it is something I have to work at.”

That was the message Antonia recently delivered to the Retirement Village Association’s annual conference.

She told delegates that technology is playing an increasingly large role in our lives, and that with it comes the opportunity for banks to deliver new products and services to customers.

This can be of huge benefit to the majority of bank customers, but there are parts of the community that can feel left behind.

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“It isn’t always about age – our oldest active goMoney app users are 102 and 104 years old – but we know some in this group find change difficult.

“It can be a complex and confusing experience. They find it really hard to do things online.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic ANZ noticed that among those continuing to visit its branches were some elderly. Customers whose age meant they were at higher risk from the virus.

“Each time we went into a lockdown or changed alert levels I was reminded of the essential role digital technology plays in our lives," Antonia says, "and how important it is for all New Zealanders to have the confidence and ability to connect online.”

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Antonia explained this helped inspire ANZ’s decision to donate $500,000 to Age Concern.

The donation was intended to help create a long-term digital literacy plan, to help older New Zealanders use technology, stay in touch with friends and family and safely use online services.

ANZ’s involvement didn’t end with the financial donation.

“Many of our staff continue to work with Age Concern to help with digital banking, including doing one-on-one workshops in branches and retirement villages.”

"People have different levels of confidence, access and experience when it comes to technology. We need to be mindful of that as we move from the old world to the new."

Antonia Watson, ANZ NZ Chief Executive Officer

Several ANZ staff attended the Association's conference to showcase the work the bank has been doing.

One of them was James Narayan, an ANZ Business Development and Initiatives Manager.

“We wanted to let delegates to the conference know about the help we can provide,” James says.

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Conference delegates were eager to know how the bank could provide support to encourage fraud awareness, and how it was assisting customers concerned by the removal of cheques.

“The more people we can talk to and help with alternatives, the better.”

ANZ staff can use their volunteer leave to provide one-on-one tech workshops for retirement village residents.

“It’s great to see how people gain confidence from the workshops - and it’s also a really rewarding experience for us being able to help.”