ANZ has announced a strategic partnership with Sydney-based software developer Data Republic, allowing the bank to tap into DR’s data exchange platform and enhance its customer data processing capabilities.

Through the deal, ANZ will gain access to DR’s ‘data sharing control centre’, which gives partner organisations the ability “to store, categorise, and share data while maintaining strict governance and auditing frameworks,” the company said.

ANZ chief data officer Emma Gray said the partnership will allow ANZ “to get more out of the data we already have, but in a safe and secure environment that provides the highest levels of governance.”

“Through the cloud-based platform we will now be able to access trusted experts and other partners to develop useful insights for our customers in hours rather than months,” Gray added.

With the Federal Government expected to introduce open banking within the year, the strategic partnership may prove key to ANZ’s push to ready itself for the new regime.

Data Republic chief executive Paul McCarney said the collaboration will “future-proof ANZ’s data collaboration capabilities” and “position ANZ to overcome many of the challenges and potential risks associated with open data [and] data sharing.”

Open banking seeks to ‘liberalise’ customer data exchanges between financial services organisations, giving customers the right to direct their bank to share personal data with another institution.

ANZ expects to begin using the Data Republic platform from late March.