The Lab lets people — employees and customers alike — experiment with new banking technologies by experiencing them firsthand in a uniquely non-branch environment.
“This is not a branch. It is designed to trial different technologies.”
— James Bergin, ASB’s Chief Architect
ASB wants employees and customers alike to use its new Innovation Lab to evaluate a range of alternatives for common banking functions. The Lab is strategically located at the bank’s main headquarters facility, allowing senior executives and operations staff to have a front row seat as ASB looks at new innovations.
“It is a highly interactive environment designed from the ground up to be flexible and adaptive where we can trial many different technologies to determine the most effective innovations before we roll them out to our national branch network,” explains James Bergin, ASB’s Chief Architect.
“Although our Innovation Lab contains a 24-hour ATM lobby, a foreign exchange desk and can perform other normal branch banking activities, this is not a branch,” notes Bergin. “There are no walls of paper brochures or long counters separating our staff from customers.”
Bergin says the Lab was deliberately engineered to specifically not look like a traditional branch environment. “Customers will instead encounter a range of interactive technology designed to help them explore new ways of meeting their banking requirements.”
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The Innovation Lab will trial different technologies and hardware prototypes developed by ASB, including 103″ gesture-based, interactive plasma screens running Microsoft Kinect motion sensors. This allows people to navigate through digital brochures, real-time rates and videos using hand gestures — no touching the screen.
There are touch-enabled, wall- and table-mounted interactive multi-media displays for self-service activities.
“Our customers who have a big part to play in deciding what that future looks like.”
— James Bergin, ASB’s Chief Architect
The Innovation Lab also contains video-conferencing facilities and a state-of-the-art touch-enabled ATM prototype from NCR — the only one of its kind installed anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere. The prototype will allow ASB to experiment merging the ATM, internet banking and teller-based operations — three functions that have been traditionally kept separate.
The Innovation Lab adds to the innovation benchmarks achieved in the design, construction and operation of the ASB North Wharf building, which is one of the most advanced commercial office buildings in New Zealand, helping set the benchmark in Australasia for sustainability.
ASB’s environmentally-friendly North Wharf headquarters facility.
