SYDNEY, Australia–KPMG Australia has released what is it calling “key takeaways” following its “Fintech Accelerator mLab,” in which several credit unions participated.
As CUToday.info earlier reported here, the objective was to match up deposit-taking institutions with early-stage fintech firms. Among the seven Australian mutual banks and credit unions participants were Beyond Bank, CUA, Greater Bank, Heritage Bank, IMB Bank, Police Bank, and Teachers Mutual Bank.
“The outcomes speak for themselves,” said James Mabbott, who heads up KPMG Innovate. “We identified 18 qualified collaboration opportunities between the fintechs and mutuals and 10 are already happening. Established and traditional industries often struggle with adapting to the pace of change. mLabs has been an experiment in making this possible. By focusing on a collaborative approach to innovation, we have demonstrated what can be achieved by connecting best-in-class startups with established market players.”
KPMG reported that the program saw many of the seven mutual banks and credit union participants engage directly with fintech startup to co-create products and apply new ways of thinking to their business.
“The mLabs experience has given us some further valuable insight into the unique, accelerated process of prototyping new products and services,” said CUA Chief Digital Officer, Sue Coulter. “The program was also an excellent opportunity to work with startups who continue to challenge financial institutions to ‘lift their game’ and provide fresh ideas around products and services that cater to customers’ needs.”
The KPMG Mutuals Fintech Accelerator is expected to return in 2017, the company said.