Catch up with Michael

Welcome to the April edition of MyQ. This is our way of connecting with you, our customers, to talk about the things that really matter to us: our community, our people and what we’re doing to create the best experience possible for our customers.

Before we continue, on behalf of the entire team at Qudos Bank, I’d like to extend my deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by the recent floods on the east coast. To see the devastation brought to our communities and the impact it has had on the people of Queensland and New South Wales is heartbreaking.

We’re offering financial support to those who have been directly impacted by the floods, so please get in touch with our team via Secure Mail or by calling 1300 747 747 to talk about your situation and how we may be able to assist.

What we can expect to see with interest rate rises

You may have been hearing that interest rates in the market are starting to rise.

As the international economy continues to re-balance from the clutches of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine creates new volatility. Inflation has increased sharply due to skyrocketing energy prices, unstable supply chains and trade restrictions.

Surprisingly, Australia’s economy remains strong, with unemployment at its lowest level since 2008*

With wholesale markets swap rates increasing, we’ve had to re-balance our portfolio to ensure the ongoing strength and security of the bank. In response we have adjusted some of our mortgage interest rates, most recently our Fixed rate home loan products.

While mortgage rates offered by the majors continue to rise, our rates continue to remain competitive and in many instances lead the market. We will endeavour to maintain our competitiveness while responding to the varying environment.

Award Winning Home Loans

It’s always such a proud moment for me and the team at Qudos Bank when we receive recognition for the products and services that we offer. Earlier this year, we were awarded three awards from Mozo and Canstar, in the Fixed Rate Home Loan and Split Home Loan categories. We share this celebration with all of our customers and look forward to continuing to offer you award winning products.

Improving efficiency and the loan application experience

Our loan origination project is progressing well, our project team has focused on delivering the most modern solution possible to improve both the customer experience and reduce slow manual processes on the administration end.

The introduction of robotics and artificial intelligence to our loan application process is going to enhance our service capabilities substantially. The internal system integrations, along with those of external partners like solicitors and credit providers will allow for real-time data analysis and improve loan assessment timeframes.

Whilst there are still some finishing touches to be done, we look forward to introducing this technology soon.

We’re switching to eStatements

In support of our ethical banking practices, we’re continuing our journey to go paperless wherever possible to reduce our impact on the environment and create cost efficiencies. To start this process, over the coming months we’ll be switching some your accounts to receive electronic statements (eStatements).

EStatements can be viewed and accessed within Online Banking or via the Mobile App. We’ll be notifying you directly via mail in the lead up to this change, so it’s important we have your correct contact details. If you need to update this, you can do so via the mobile app or within Online Banking. For more information visit the FAQs section on our website.

We understand that some customers may still wish to receive paper statements, and that will continue to be an option, however we’d like to encourage you to consider your need for paper statements and help us do our part to reduce this impact wherever we can. More information will be shared shortly.

I’d like to finish by thanking all of our customers for their ongoing support and loyalty and thank you to our staff for continuing to provide outstanding service and support to our customers, especially during these times of need. Again, my heart goes out to those impacted by the devastating floods along the east coast, please get in contact with our customer services specialists if you need assistance.

Thank you

*rba.gov.au