In a recent interview NAB CEO Andrew Irvine spoke about how NAB is harnessing global trends including technology, talent and changing customer needs to deliver better outcomes for customers and colleagues.
09 October 2025 | 2 min read
6 February 2026
What happens when two major banks innovate together rather than in isolation?
According to NAB Enterprise Technology Executive, Steve Day and BNZ Chief Information Officer, Paul Norman, the answer is faster delivery, stronger resilience and ultimately better experiences for customers.
Steve Day and Paul Norman in discussion for the Trans-Tasman Business Circle Chief Information Officer event in Melbourne and Auckland.
This is a message they shared this week at the inaugural Chief Information Officer series hosted by the Trans-Tasman Business Circle. The pair told industry peers and business leaders that NAB and BNZ’s strong partnership allows both organisations to accelerate innovation by learning from each other’s experimentation, testing and delivery of new products and services.
NAB Enterprise Technology Executive Steve Day said shared learning is a powerful advantage, highlighting how parallel innovation benefits both banks.
“Having two banks testing ideas in parallel effectively doubles our learning,” Mr Day said.
“We’re able to share what works, what doesn’t, and how customers respond before scaling solutions more broadly.”
While NAB and BNZ operate independently in their respective markets, the close collaboration behind the scenes as businesses within the NAB Group, enables ideas to be proven, refined and rolled out with greater confidence. This includes sharing insights from major technology initiatives, modernisation programs and new digital capabilities, reducing duplication and helping both banks move faster.
BNZ Chief Information Officer Paul Norman said the partnership allows BNZ to leverage NAB’s scale, while also being nimble enough to share and contribute innovations that can be adopted in Australia and more broadly across the Group.
NAB Enterprise Technology Executive, Steve Day (left), with Trans-Tasman Business Circle Founder & Managing Director, Johnny Weiss (right) in Melbourne.
BNZ CIO, Paul Norman in Auckland.
“We run our own experiments, but we don’t learn in isolation,” Mr Norman said.
“We share our learnings with NAB in real time, which helps us both innovate, move faster and manage risk more effectively.”
In many cases, BNZ spearheaded Groupwide technology rollouts, with the insights gained informing NAB’s strategic approach. In others, NAB’s experience has helped BNZ accelerate its own delivery. The result is a more consistent, resilient and modern technology foundation across both banks.
For customers, the benefits of this collaboration are clear. NAB and BNZ deliver more reliable services, improved security and simpler, more effective banking solutions.
“Our customers don’t see what we work on behind the scenes,” Mr Day said. “What they do experience is safer, more resilient technology and services that keep getting better.”
Mr Norman added that shared values underpin the relationship. “We are putting our customers first, earning trust and innovating responsibly,” he said. “Our shared alignment makes our trans-Tasman partnership incredibly effective.”
As the collaboration continues to evolve, the joint partnership remains a powerful engine for innovation, delivering lasting value for NAB, BNZ and the millions of customers they serve.
