Ground Floor, 1919 Malvern Road,
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VIC 3145 Australia.
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Catholic Development Fund (CDF) is a Catholic financial institution. Its mission is to support and help grow Catholic organisations (such as education, healthcare, parishes, charities and community organisations) from the financial foundation of Australia's Catholic community. Australia's Catholic sectors are far-reaching, providing essential services to a large subset of the Australian population - beyond just those in the Catholic faith. Catholic schools educate 1 in 5 students, and Catholic healthcare organisations make up 30% of private hospitals and 12% of aged care facilities. Having worked together since 1979, CDF is Ultradata's longest-standing technology partnership. They're also Ultradata's largest Australian client by asset size.
To future-proof its Internet Banking solution against evolving customer demands, CDF upgraded to Business Viewpoint 3, a version of My Viewpoint 3 with a user interface tailored to the unique needs of corporate customers.
CDF has a unique place in the Ultradata family. Each of its 20 sites operates as a separate institution - albeit with a collective mission under the CDF banner. CDF's business model is also different from a traditional bank, and they are not regulated as such. As a faith-based fund, they do not offer many typical banking services such as Cards, the New Payments Platform, Open Banking, and International Payments. Because of this, it's not uncommon for CDF customers to have accounts with other financial institutions to access these services. Such a reliance on other financial institutions among CDF's customer base puts them in direct competition with Australia's largest banks for the services they do offer.
Megan Liddell is the Technology Solutions and Operations Manager at the Archdiocesan Development Fund, a CDF site based in Brisbane, Queensland. Her extensive experience working with Ultradata technology has seen her seconded as Project Manager for CDF's digital transformation program, which began in 2021 when they upgraded their core banking system to Ultracs 5.1.
Megan noted that the customer-facing impact of CDF's digital transformation was to play a key role in CDF's ongoing sustainability.
"Our customers typically go to the major banks for their corporate banking services that CDF don't offer. So, they have a certain standard of systems that they expect with certain security protocols and protections."
CDF had been using Business Viewpoint Next Gen as its internet banking solution. While fit-for-purpose at its launch, online banking services (and the user experience customers expect) have since evolved beyond its capabilities.
With Ultracs 5.1, CDF had a launching pad for upgrading its customer-facing channels.
"Upgrading to Ultracs 5.1 allowed us to tidy up our IT infrastructure by moving away from a number of legacy systems." Said Megan.
"Ultracs 5.1 delivered a consistent platform across all our sites, enhancing CDF's operational efficiency and staff experience. Now that we had the internal systems, the next logical step was to deliver a similar benefit for our customers."
CDF chose Business Viewpoint 3 Release 4 (BV3 R4) to modernise its Internet banking solution. BV3 R4 provides them with a modern, secure, and customer-centric solution known to customers as CDF Online.
A key improvement was CDF’s online responsive capabilities, which provided a usable interface for customers logging in on non-computer devices such as phones or tablets. With customer banking behaviours overwhelmingly moving to mobile, this was a key improvement to CDF's banking channels.
With customers increasingly aware of cyber threats, strong protections are essential to maintaining trust. To ensure the security of its online banking platform, CDF prioritised robust cybersecurity measures in CDF Online. Self-service password reset, two-factor authentication, and data users are some of the capabilities in CDF Online that protect CDF and its customers' data from cyber threats. These safeguards help maintain trust, compliance, and a secure banking experience.
Self-Service Password Reset: Allows CDF customers to reset their online banking password, making for a more streamlined online banking experience and reducing customers' reliance on CDF customer service.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): According to a Microsoft report, 99.9% of successful unauthorised access attempts occurred in accounts that did not have multi-factor authentication, highlighting the effectiveness of adding an extra authentication step to the login process. BV3 R4's 2FA solution allows CDF to implement robust security protocols that significantly reduce the risk of data breaches while minimising the impact of security controls on genuine customer activity through a user-friendly interface.
Data Users: Data Users allow organisations to create multiple "users" within Business Viewpoint Accounts. A convenient solution to meet audit requirements, this feature minimises the number of individual accounts an organisation needs to create and manage while providing the organisation complete visibility over who accesses CDF Online.
Batch Transactions: Corporate customers often deal with high volumes of like-for-like transactions. BV3 R4’s batch transaction capability allows these transaction types to be processed securely and effectively. It also effectively separates duties, as entering, posting, and reconciling these transactions can be done independently, without the role responsible for each stage needing to have full access to the entire transaction workflow.
These enhancements address customers' business requirements, and Megan says the upgraded Internet banking solution will strengthen CDF's relationships with its community.
"Our customers are organisations. And in today's business environment, they all must have and adhere to strict cybersecurity controls. So, while we're a community pillar, our customers would have every right to look elsewhere to meet their business requirements without these necessary improvements.
Upgrading CDF Online shows a commitment to cybersecurity and organisational excellence, as well as that we're listening to feedback and genuinely invested in our customers' success."
CDF's organisational structure required an intensive upgrade and rollout project. Megan and the CDF team were bolstered throughout by Ultradata's guidance and expertise.
"We worked closely with the Ultradata team for the duration of the project. They were always responsive whenever we wanted to have some catch-ups to discuss workflow and answer any queries.
Before we made any significant decisions, we discussed them with the project team. We trusted Ultradata to clarify how each project stage—from kick-off to post-go-live—would look. Because of this, our internal team has been able to work efficiently and confidently."
Working to upgrade 20 separate sites added an additional layer of complexity to the project. However, the Ultradata team worked above and beyond to ensure this quirk did not hinder the project's success.
"Our installers were very, very good. The speed and the accuracy with which they could go through and do those upgrades meant that something that could have taken us seven or eight hours on go-live night took just two or three.
With CDF's digital transformation, a program of work that has spanned multiple projects across several years, Megan also highlights the benefit of a dedicated CDF team to help deliver each initiative.
However, Megan said the defining factor in the project's success was Ultradata's strategic expertise and enthusiasm for working with CDF to provide a tailored corporate banking solution that met their needs.
"We've had several follow-up discussions with Ultradata around a road map for where we would like to see BV3 R4 go regarding a more corporate offering. It wasn't just ticking a box and completing the project. Ultradata has shown a very clear willingness to listen and to work with us to see what else they can deliver to add additional benefits to our solution."
With the successful rollout of CDF Online via My Viewpoint 3, Megan sees potential for not only CDF but also the wider financial services sector.
"BV3 R4 gives CDF the capabilities it needs to offer a corporate banking solution to our customers. While we serve a specific market, I see the value in this solution across the board. As such, I highly recommend BV3 R4 for any financial institution looking to enhance its corporate banking offering.