National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a new direct banking business, called UBank, which is focused on savings products.
UBank - which is the first offering from NAB's Star Direct business - is a branch-free banking service that customers access via the Internet and an Australia-based call centre.
Initially UBank will offer term deposits, with a range of additional savings, transaction and investment products to follow, over the Internet and phone.
"UBank will allow us to compete for the 'self serve banking' customer segment," says Greg Sutherland, executive general manager, Star Direct and Marketing. "Our aim is to attract a new set of retail customers while operating independently to NAB's other retail brands."
Earlier this year NAB recruited Oracle to manage the roll out of the first phase of a A$1 billion overhaul of its core banking operations, including the platform for Star Direct.
The launch of the direct banking unit comes as NAB looks to shore up its business by building up its retail deposit base.