Key players are coming together to improve smartphone banking.

Australia’s largest credit union, CUA, has joined Silicon Valley-based Pivotus Venturesto work on new banking applications for smartphones.

CUA chief Rob Goudswaard says the credit union is looking for a technological edge to help it take on the big four banks.

Pivotus picked CUA as the Australian arm of a global group that includes Britain's Nationwide (the world's largest building society), the Netherlands' major bank De Volksbank, and the NASDAQ-listed Umpqua Bank, of which Pivotus is a subsidiary.

“Leveraging this international expertise gives CUA an opportunity to innovate faster, cheaper and at a greater scale than if we go it alone. This allows us to bring new services to members more quickly,” Mr Goudswaard said. “

Our absolute belief is the future of financial services and experience is in smartphones.”

CUA will have the right to commercialise intellectual property created as part of the partnership in Australia and New Zealand, including selling innovations to other customer-owned banks.

While a lot of the finance tech world is looking at artificial intelligence applications for banking, the Pivotus group is focusing more on the intersection of AI with human service, including via smartphone Facetime calls.

“Algorithms are helpful but you need a human face,” Mr Goudswaard said.

It is the latest in a string of tech-friendly moves by CUA, which includes turning on Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay, participating in KPMG's first fintech accelerator for mutual banks - mLabs, sponsoring Brisbane accelerator River City Labs and Stone & Chalk, creating apps to support customers through special life moments like having a baby, and piloting Spriggy - a debit card and app for eight to 14-year-olds that teaches them about financial literacy.