Ground Floor, 1919 Malvern Road,
Malvern East,
VIC 3145 Australia.
-
What are you looking for?
Catholic Development Funds (CDFs) are financial institutions established by Catholic dioceses around Australia to support the mission of the Church through ethical investment and lending. They primarily serve Catholic organisations (such as education, healthcare, parishes, charities and community organisations) by offering tailored financial services that align with Catholic values.
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. Whilst each CDF operates independently within its own diocese, CDFs collaborate closely to share resources, expertise and innovations. Having worked together since 1979, CDFs are Ultradata's longest-standing technology partnership. They're also Ultradata's largest Australian client by combined asset size.
To future-proof their online transaction solution against evolving customer demands, CDFs upgraded to Business Viewpoint 3, a version of My Viewpoint 3 with a user interface tailored to the unique needs of corporate customers.
CDFs have a unique place in the Ultradata family. There are 20 separate CDFs engaging with Ultradata under a collective participation agreement. 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.
Megan Liddell is the Technology Solutions and Operations Manager at the Archdiocesan Development Fund, a Catholic development fund based in Brisbane. 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 range from small to large corporate entities across many industries with exposure to many different systems and financial services providers. So, they have a certain standard of systems that they expect with defined security protocols and protections."
CDFs had been using Business Viewpoint Next Gen as their online transaction solution. While fit-for-purpose at its launch many years ago, online transaction services (and the user experience customers expect) have since evolved beyond its capabilities.
With Ultracs 5.1, CDFs had a launching pad for upgrading their customer-facing channels.
"Upgrading to Ultracs 5.1 allowed us to tidy up our IT infrastructure by moving away from a number of legacy modifications." Said Megan.
"Ultracs 5.1 delivered a more consistent platform across all our sites, enhancing CDF's operational efficiency and staff experience. Now that we had improved the internal systems, the next logical step was to deliver a similar benefit for our customers."
CDFs chose Business Viewpoint 3 Release 4 (BV3 R4) to modernise their online transaction solution. BV3 R4 provides them with a modern, secure, and customer-centric solution known to customers as CDF Online.
A key improvement was CDF Online’s responsive capabilities, which provided a usable interface for customers logging in on non-computer devices such as phones or tablets. With customer transaction behaviours overwhelmingly moving to mobile, this was a key improvement to CDF's transaction channels.
With customers increasingly aware of cyber threats, strong protections are essential to maintaining trust. To ensure the security of their online transaction platform, CDF’s 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’s and their customers' from cyber threats. These safeguards help maintain trust, compliance, and a secure transactional experience.
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’s to implement robust security protocols that significantly reduce the risk of account 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 individuals 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 their community.
"Our customers are Catholic organisations. And in today's business environment, they all must have and adhere to strict cybersecurity controls. So, while CDF’s are a trusted partner, our customers would start to look elsewhere to meet their business requirements without these necessary improvements.
Upgrading CDF Online shows a commitment to payment security and organisational excellence, as well as that we're listening to feedback and genuinely invested in our customers' success."
As there are 20 separate CDFs under the CDF arrangement, an intensive upgrade and rollout project was required. Megan and the CDF Project 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 meet to discuss workflow and answer any queries.
Before we made any significant decisions, we discussed them with the project team. We trusted Tristan, our Ultradata Project Manager, 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 environments added an additional layer of complexity to the project. However, the CDF and Ultradata teams worked above and beyond to ensure this did not hinder the project's success.
"Our installers were very, very good. The speed and the accuracy with which they were able to complete the 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 the 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 transaction 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 CDFs but also the wider financial services sector.
"BV3 R4 gives CDFs the capabilities they need to offer a fully functional online transaction solution to their 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.