Gilbert + Tobin has advised Great Southern Bank on its strategic investment in Australian fintech Constantinople and its partnership with Constantinople to launch a new digital banking proposition for small business customers.

Under the arrangement Great Southern Bank will pilot Constantinople’s digital platform with a view to launching a new digital banking proposition in the second half of 2023 aimed at Australia’s 2.4 million small and medium-sized businesses.  Great Southern Bank also made a strategic investment in Constantinople’s Series Seed capital raise alongside prominent Australian venture capital firms, Square Peg and AirTree Ventures.

Partnering with Constantinople provides Great Southern Bank an exciting opportunity to focus on offering a range of intuitive banking products and related services specifically aimed at meeting the needs of small and medium sized businesses without taking on all the operational complexity.

The G+T team was led by Technology partner Michael Caplan with support from Head of G+T Ventures Xavier Keary, Fintech + Web3 partner Peter Reeves, Special Counsel Georgina Willcock and lawyers Claire Harris, Emily Shen, Alexa Bowditch and Karen Fanning.

Michael commented, “It has been a pleasure to work with Great Southern Bank and to advise them on its partnership with Constantinople. Great Southern Bank is a highly respected financial institution, and this partnership gives Great Southern Bank the opportunity to provide integrated, intuitive, digital-first offerings for a critical segment of the market that historically has been under-served.”