BOQ Group continues its multi-brand transformation 

Thursday, 28 April 2022

Bank of Queensland Group has reached a major milestone in its digital transformation strategy, launching a brand new app, myBOQ. The new app for BOQ customers lands exactly one year on from Virgin Money’s new digital bank, and is built on the same Temenos cloud based digital banking platform, representing the next phase in the Group’s progress towards being a fully cloud based digital bank.

BOQ Group Chief Executive Officer George Frazis said, “When we first unveiled our digital transformation strategy, we promised this app. It started with the launch of the Virgin Money app and now we’re expanding our digital bank vision exactly one year on with the latest addition of myBOQ”.

“We are thrilled to be able to deliver this important milestone in our transformation program for customers. With myBOQ, customers can open an account in under 5 minutes and take advantage of ‘no fuss’ banking with near real-time payments thanks to Osko and PayID as well as instant digital debit card issuance.”

BOQ Chief Information Officer Craig Ryman said, “Across BOQ Group, we have a comprehensive and ambitious digital transformation well underway. At the heart of this is leveraging the latest technologies to simplify, strengthen and transform so we can build our capabilities and drive innovation for customers.

“Now that we’ve established Virgin Money and BOQ brands on our single, cloud based digital banking platform, we’re looking forward to delivering this for ME Bank next.”

BOQ launches new app, myBOQ

myBOQ has been designed to help more Australians get ahead on their financial goals, delivering intuitive everyday banking features with the convenience of being an all in one app, including round ups, real time savings insights, multiple savings accounts and personal financial management tools.

Launched in conjunction with myBOQ is an exclusive suite of everyday banking accounts including BOQ Future Saver. With Australians becoming increasingly goal oriented with their savings, BOQ Future Saver has been designed with a 2% interest rate to help customers between 14 to 35 years of age plan for the future with confidence and achieve their goals faster.

Four new everyday banking accounts are now available to be managed within myBOQ app, representing a best-in-class digital experience:

·       BOQ Future Saver™ (14-35 years) and BOQ Smart Saver™ (36+): High-interest saver accounts with easy-to-earn bonus interest are available when customers hold an Everyday Account in the same name.

·       BOQ Simple Saver™ (14+): No hoops and no fuss when customers just want to save. Customers can simply sit back and watch their savings grow.

·       Everyday Account (14+): A simple, intuitive everyday transaction account, made even better with user-friendly features so customers can make the most of their money.

Virgin Money’s digital bank and new Lock Saver Feature

To date, Virgin Money’s digital bank has supported over 62,500 customers reach their financial goals, earning over 84 million points through a unique loyalty program, saving an extra $68,000 collectively using the round up feature and helping over 50% of savings customers create and track their goals.

Virgin Money’s digital bank has also attracted a younger customer who is digitally savvy (54% under the age of 39), a result of digitizing 43 out of 50 processes. 94% of deposit customers are new to Virgin Money, and 41% are currently saving towards home ownership.

Virgin Money has just expanded its digital bank with the introduction of an innovative new ‘Lock Saver Feature’, to help make saving easier so Australians can reach their long-term goals sooner.

The brand new Lock Saver Feature is the first of its kind in Australia and fills a clear gap in the Australian.

By turning on the feature in the Virgin Money app, customers can lock away the funds in their savings account(s) that they don’t need instant access to - resisting the temptation to spend money put aside for something special like a home or car, and attracting an additional variable notice interest rate of 0.35%p.a., resulting in a highly competitive interest rate of 1.35%p.a. when they also meet the monthly criteria[i]. To access their money again, customers just need to give 32 days’ notice which begins as soon as they select to unlock their account in the app.

 Virgin Money customers can lock the savings in one or more (up to 9) Grow Saver and Boost Saver accounts within minutes[i], with no minimum balance and the freedom to regularly add extra funds while it’s locked[ii].

For more information on myBOQ and the latest everyday banking accounts, visit www.boq.com.au/personal/online-banking/myboq-app

For more information on Virgin Money’s new Lock saver feature, visit www.virginmoney.com.au/bank-and-save/app-features/lock-saver

[i] To qualify for the bonus rate, you must meet the Monthly Criteria: deposit at least $2,000 into your Go Account from another financial institution and make at least 5 purchases on your Go Account that settled in that month (not pending). If you are under 25, our Monthly Criteria may be different. Refer to our Monthly Criteria in the Rates and Fees section for more information.

[i] Just provide 32 days’ advance notice to unlock your account or withdraw your money. This feature may be suitable for savings you don’t need to immediately access to.

[ii] Balances up to $250,000 per account

For any media enquiries, please contact:

BOQ Media Relations

Email: Mediarelations@boq.com.au

Phone: 07 3212 3068