PropertyMate

PropertyMate makes it easier for home buyers and renters to do thorough property inspections, guiding them through the key things they need to consider in each room, record their impressions and capture photos. It is available as part of the St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne mobile banking apps for iPhone.

In another Australian first, customers and non-customers can now apply for a credit card using a mobile optimised process. This new service is available via the St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne mobile websites as well the latest iPhone banking app. The credit card approval process remains the same, with some existing customers able to be approved on the spot.

Business Banking Online, for St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne business customers, has also seen a complete refresh, with most of the changes made reflecting customer feedback.

"The last few weeks have certainly been busy for St.George Banking Group with the launch of PropertyMate, the refreshed Business Banking Online and the ability to apply for credit cards via mobile," said Dhiren Kulkarni, CIO and Innovation for St.George Banking Group.

"We're really proud that we're continually listening to our customers and delivering innovations in response to that feedback, in order to make it easier for them to do their banking with us.

"For instance, we noticed an increase in the number of customers using the web-form available on our websites to open a credit card. The form isn't user friendly when accessed via a smartphone, and so we made the process simpler and easier, by creating a mobile-friendly form," said Dhiren Kulkarni.

The new PropertyMate feature is designed to give property buyers and renters a helping hand and help them avoid unexpected surprises. It simplifies open for inspection days and allows house hunters to rate and save photos of the properties they have viewed for later comparison.

It removes the guesswork, by guiding users through the key things to consider in each room, and lets people record their notes and impressions as they walk through a property. The information and ratings can then be printed as a PDF.

PropertyMate

"PropertyMate really helps people balance their first impressions and what they love about a property with the detail, to help them make the right decision and avoid potentially nasty surprises. It's just another example of the innovation we're coming up with to add real value to our customers' lives and help make a major decision easier," said Travis Tyler, Head of eChannels, St.George Banking Group.

"The ongoing enhancement of St.George Banking Group's mobile and internet offerings stem from our continuous drive for innovation through customer-focused research and development. At the same time, we're leveraging the cost efficiencies of developing multiple apps for all the Bank's brands simultaneously."

The online and mobile banking innovations launched by St.George Banking Group in recent weeks are off the back of a number of other offerings already launched this year.

This includes Pay to Mobile, which allows customers to send payments to someone using the recipient's mobile phone number alone, the inbuilt Budget Planner in the bank's iPhone app, the ability to open savings and transaction accounts via mobile and the latest release of its online banking platform which has received extensive positive feedback from customers.