The year saw a number of neobanks shelve their plans for full product rollouts as COVID-19 unfolded but the sector remains vibrant as three neobanks address a number misconceptions over the outlook for the sector. Volt Bank CEO Steve Weston; Judo Bank CRO Jacqui Colwell and Up co-founder Dom Pym joined a panel discussion with Backbase regional vice president Malcolm Macnaughtan at the RFi Group Australian Banking and Innovation Summit.

Judo Bank, a unicorn dedicated to lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia, will implement Wilmington-based nCino’s Bank Operating System. The solution will streamline the challenger bank’s lending operations and is expected to further enhance its client value proposition. nCino is a cloud banking and digital transformation solutions provider for the global financial services industry.

Amid gloomy outlooks, a bank boss says he’s optimistic about Australia’s economic future. Judo Bank co-founder Joseph Healy said the budget gave him a “a huge boost of confidence” about the economic outlook. “I thought last week’s budget was almost as good as you could have hoped for,” he told Ross and Russel. Mr Healy predicts an economic bounce back in the second half of next year.