At Cisco Live in Melbourne we had a great line-up of customers talking about how Cisco is supporting more effective collaboration within their businesses. One of our guest speakers was Ian Hendey from ME Bank, the only bank in Australia which is 100% owned by Australia's leading industry super funds.

ME Bank has a keen focus on innovation and improving the customer experience. And that's why the bank has rolled out an initiative to provide banking where its customers are located -in their workplace.

ME Bank's Workplace Banking Kiosks combine Cisco TelePresence with ATM and digital marketing, and allow customers to speak to a service representative remotely. The initiative is part of an AU$57 million technology transformation program that includes deploying mobile bankers and kiosks into the workplaces of its customers to act as a virtual branch that staff can use at any time.

The roll-out has already started in Telstra's Melbourne contact centre and further deployments have taken place in Co-Op bookshops. To date, with support from its partner Telstra, ME Bank has established Workplace Banking Kiosks in about ten locations, but the ambition is to extend the initiative to around 200 workplaces.

ME Bank expects the Workplace Banking Kiosks to improve the customer experience and attract new customers. According to Mr. Hendey, ME Bank has experienced a 30% increase in products being taken up by customers since the trial started.

Ian Hendy of ME Bank on the left and Ross Forgion from Johnson Winter Slattery on right. See more photos on Flickr from the Cisco Live session on "Next Wave of Innovation in the Collaborative Experience" here. Read more about the implementation here (see press release).