SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/-- Bank of
New Zealand (BNZ), a company
founded in 1860, announced the country's first online banking
community, powered by Lithium Technologies, giving BNZ customers a
social destination to interact with peers and the bank.
For more than 150 years, BNZ has helped New Zealanders
effectively manage their finances and the BNZ Community is a
continuation of that tradition. Lithium, a global company whose
social platform reinvents the way brands and people connect,
developed the BNZ Community to facilitate customers sharing
relevant experiences about their financial wellbeing.
"I am excited and proud of Lithium's work with BNZ. It's not
often you are the first to introduce innovation to the financial
sector for an entire country," said Rob
Tarkoff, President and CEO of Lithium. "BNZ is a pioneer in
New Zealand's financial industry
and a great example of how to harness the power of digital
platforms to meet customers' expectations."
BNZ already interacts with thousands of customers every year
through its social media channels, and the BNZ Community will build
on the bank's already strong, customer-focused social media
presence. The community will be integrated across the bank's
website and existing social media channels.
Director of Retail and Marketing for BNZ Craig Herbison noted,
"We know that our customers are increasingly seeking advice online
and that they treat advice from peers and online experts with high
regard. We've launched BNZ Community to foster these really
important conversations and encourage a culture of peer-to-peer
support in banking. We're pleased to be partnering with Lithium,
which has a solid track record of building some of the most engaged
online communities around the world."
Lithium produced two main components, a dynamic community and
the 'Good with Money' blog. The community provides a destination to
ask questions, search and give answers, and earn rewards for being
an expert. The 'Good with Money' blog features professional banking
and money content from BNZ. The community will also allow people to
actively contribute to the products and services that BNZ
develops.
Additionally, Lithium's platform is software as a service, or
SaaS. This means that product updates and features are available to
BNZ as Lithium unveils them. BNZ doesn't need to spend time
reconfiguring systems or servers or software—Lithium does all that
for them. For example, as Lithium rolls out security enhancements
and improved community features, BNZ can benefit from the
technology almost instantly.
About Lithium Technologies
Lithium's software helps
companies reinvent how they connect with their customers. Lithium
works with more than 300 of the world's best brands— including Best
Buy, Indosat, Sephora, Skype and Telstra — to respond on social
networks and to build trusted content on a community they own. The
100% SaaS-based Lithium Social Customer Experience™ platform
enables brands to build and engage vibrant customer communities to
drive sales, reduce service costs, accelerate innovation and grow
brand advocacy. For more information, visit lithium.com, or connect
with us on Twitter, Facebook and our own community. Lithium is
privately held with corporate headquarters in San Francisco and offices across Europe, Asia
and Australia.
The Lithium® logo is a registered Service Mark of Lithium
Technologies. All trademarks and product names are the property of
their respective owners.
SOURCE Lithium Technology Corp.