NAB and its community space, The Village, has been internationally recognised as a leader in using innovation to support the growth of Australia’s small businesses.
The Village was judged the winner of the Non-Digital Channels Category at the 11th Financial Insights Innovation Awards (FIIA) held in Singapore on Friday.
The FIIA profiles innovation in the banking sector across the Asia Pacific region. The award recognises organisations that are setting the benchmark for the way they successfully differentiate themselves from the market amidst escalating costs and increasingly saturated communication channels.
“We have over 1,400 members of The Village. They tell us every day just how valuable it is to have a space and a community that they can network, learn and do business in. To be recognised on the world stage is amazing,” NAB General Manager Small Business, David Bannatyne, said.
“The most rewarding thing for us is seeing our small business customers grow and learn from each other by collaborating and sharing at The Village,” he added.
The FIIA are judged by an independent panel of industry practitioners and Financial Insights analysts.
“The NAB Village brings a much-overdue revitalisation of branch banking models to the market, proving not only do physical engagements have a place in the digital era, but theirs is an exceedingly relevant one as well,” said Ho Sui-Jon, the Program Director of the FIIA and a member of IDC Financial Insights judging panel.
“NAB plays directly to the strengths of such channels, positioning the bank as an enabler of strategic C2C collaborations, and by doing so, creating added-value that cannot be easily substituted (if at all) by virtual alternatives.”
The Village is a free networking, meeting and learning space for NAB’s business customers and community partners. It opened at 700 Bourke St, Melbourne, in February 2014.
For more information on The Village, see http://www.nabvillage.com.au/
For more information on FIIA, see http://www.ap.afscongress.com/2015/fiia2015.html
