Teachers Mutual Bank has announced the creation of a new digital bank within its organisation that will seek to put essential workers at the core of its proposition. Hiver comes off the back of last week’s announcement from Teachers, when they launched a specialist home loan rate designed for key workers.
Hiver, as the bank is to be known, will offer the capabilities of a digital bank and the socially-conscious policies of the traditional customer-owned bank model.
“Hiver bank is a new digital bank,” said Carolyn Murphy, Chief Digital Bank Officer at Hiver. “We saw an opportunity for our essential workers across the education, emergency services and health sectors in Australia to provide a different offering that sits across those core areas.”
“We’re looking to attract a younger demographic by introducing new technology and innovation that provides us with an opportunity and a different business strategy without impact the ecosystem that we have already.”
“We thought this provided us with a chance to innovate and introduce new technology, and not disrupt the traditional members who are happy with their banking is working. This gives us an opportunity to give customers the new app and present a new way for them to interact with the bank, as well as some new product offerings as well.”
For Murphy, the business model that customer-owned banks like Teachers work under makes them perfect for innovative offerings such as Hiver.
“We see it as all about community, hence the name,” she said. “Hiver is us all working together in the hive. When you join the bank, you become a hiver. It’s all about that interconnectedness of the essential workers.”
“A majority of our funding comes from our members’ deposits, and what that means is that the nurses and firefighters who bank with us are supporting each other and ultimately, the home loans and product offerings of other paramedics and teachers who are also eligible members. It’s really helping those that serve us and helping them to support each other.”
