The bank has committed to investing A$1.8 billion to A$2 billion, or 30% of its yearly budget, in IT upgrades over the next four years.

The action is a part of Project Unite, an initiative comprising 85 distinct technology projects meant to undo ten years of underfunding.

The project's primary goal is to eliminate duplication and lower the total number of systems from 180 to 60, a two-thirds reduction.

Westpac CEO Peter King stated, "We have more technology than we need," in remarks that were picked up by the Australian press.

King said that the bank had just finished a protracted risk management upgrade and the sale of its non-core businesses, so the timing of the upgrade was ideal.

Furthermore, even though the bank has been working on a technology simplification program for a long time, this most recent announcement marks a major acceleration of those efforts.

Several projects have already been finished, according to Scott Collary, the bank's chief information officer. These include reducing the number of customer onboarding systems and combining communication networks.

According to Collary, the bank's primary priorities for 2024 will not be replacing its fundamental banking systems, but rather "improving customer outcomes," "simplifying things for bankers," and cutting expenses.

"These problems are not primarily caused by core systems. At the conclusion of this, the core will be discussed.