Ubank takes the reins of neobank 86 400, reveals new look and products

Ubank, an Australian direct bank owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), today unveiled a new look following their absorption of neobank 86 400. 

The merger comes after ubank announced intentions to acquire 86 400 in January 2021 for $220 million, with regulatory approvals received almost one year ago to the day. 

Ubank’s new logo may carry a touch of nostalgia for those familiar with 86 400’s sans-serif simplicity. But the identity isn’t the only piece of 86 400 that ubank has adopted.

According to a NAB media release from 2021, they planned to use the acquisition of 86 400 to “accelerate the growth of its digital bank, ubank, by combining ubank’s established customer base and name with 86 400’s technology and innovation capability.”

Ubank will take over 86 400’s products, including bank accounts, savings accounts, and home loans.

For those with existing ubank products like USave and USpend accounts, and UHomeLoans, ubank’s online banking portal and the ubank app will still be available and work much in the same way, according to their website. 

Ubank will continue to operate as a digital bank, meaning that they won’t have physical branches or ATMs. Instead they’re focussed on providing customers with “an entire bank in their mobile”. 

This circumvents some of the hurdles that usually come with bank mergers - like branch closures or ATM availability issues -  which should come as good news for customers of both financial institutions.

With their rebranding also comes a new-look app – an updated version of the original 86 400 app with the new ubank colour scheme and name.

Ubank is touting an in-app, two minute sign-up time for their Spend and Save accounts, access to payment features across a range of smart devices (like Fitbit Pay and Apple Pay), shared accounts with your partner, banking insights, connected accounts from other financial institutions, among more in-app features.