By the 1920s, Burroughs ledger machines – akin to typewriters or early adding machines – were used for calculations, replacing mental arithmetic.

Then, in around the 1960s, passbook accounts were designed with ‘black light’ signature panels giving customers the freedom to bank outside of their home branch.

Fast forward to 2020, and we have more than three million customers using our mobile banking app to check account balances, view transactions, and send and receive money.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital banking, with more of our customers looking to digital solutions – be it online or via their mobile phones – to enable them to do their banking from the safety of their home.

Changing the way we do things to meet the needs of our customers isn’t new for ANZ.

More than 100 years ago, the Spanish Flu pandemic also led to the closure of state borders, placing restrictions on banking services.

Staff in ANZ’s Tweed Heads branch in NSW came up with an innovative way to ensure money and cheques were still able to flow, using a cigar box and some rope to transport the contents across the river to the Queensland border at Coolangatta.

Now in 2020, we continue to adapt the ways in which we deliver products and services to our customers.

With the majority of non-branch staff working remotely from home for much of the year, we had to implement digital solutions for almost every aspect of customer engagement – from accepting electronic signatures on bank documents, to holding virtual customer meetings and events via phone or video calls.

Over the years, despite the challenges in our operating environment, serving customers and providing essential banking services has been our priority.