Macquarie reimagines customer-focused banking with launch of ‘Q’

Australians will benefit from instant access to next generation personalised help and support with the launch of ‘Q’, a new AI-powered agent exclusive to Macquarie Bank.

The intelligent, human-like support assistant offers Macquarie customers 24/7 support across a range of everyday banking services and is now available in the Macquarie Mobile Banking app and Macquarie Online. Powered by Macquarie Intelligence, Q uses advanced language processing to understand common customer questions and requests so it can respond instantly with practical and personalised support. Customers can ask common questions such as “What is my daily payment limit?” and “How long will my payment take to process?”, with Q providing the answer or directing them to the right place for more information. If a request goes beyond Q’s current capability or a customer needs to speak to a person, Q seamlessly connects them to a Macquarie team member for further help during business hours.

Ashwin Sinha, Chief Digital, Data and AI Officer, says Q reflects Macquarie Bank’s customer obsession and represents the next step in its digital-first approach. Sinha said: “In designing our digital banking experiences, we look beyond financial services to understand customer trends and take inspiration from technology leaders. We all now expect instant, seamless and personalised support in every aspect of our lives, and that’s what we’re offering with Q.”

Q provides flexible customer support through a real-time conversational interface. If a conversation is escalated to a Macquarie team member, it shifts to an asynchronous model that replicates the user experience of messaging apps. This means that customers can ask their question 24/7 and step away from the conversation and return to it later without needing to restart, with more complex responses from Macquarie team members provided during business hours. Security remains central, with two-factor authentication and encryption used to protect customer data and conversations.

“Following extensive testing, from day one, we’ve ensured Q can accurately answer the most common questions asked by our customers, and that’s just the starting point,” Sinha added. “Q is designed to evolve quickly as more people use it, and we’ll keep expanding its capabilities with new features based on real customer feedback, so it keeps delivering more and more value to our customers.”

As Q continues to be developed, Macquarie expects it will provide customers with clear and personalised spending insights by category or merchant. This capability will allow customers to ask questions such as “How much have I spent on groceries this year?”. Macquarie is also developing Q’s ability to answer more future-focused questions about their finances, with predictive insights enabling answers to questions such as “How long will it take me to save for a holiday?”.

Sinha added: “Q is designed to help our customers get things done more easily, whether that’s understanding their spending, moving money, or finding quick answers to everyday questions. It’s about giving our customers more control, confidence and convenience in how they manage their money.”

Q builds on Macquarie’s ongoing commitment to digital innovation, with recent investments in AI, security leadership with Macquarie Authenticator and a broader range of solutions that deliver safer, smarter and more intuitive banking.