Speaking at the TM Forum Summit in Sydney, Harte, said the continual focus on IT infrastructure is restricting customer value.

"We think that customers want more dynamic content and transactions in real time, as well as more insight from financial services providers," Harte said.

"Half of all we spend is on infrastructure...this doesn't confer value to the shareholder or the customer and doesn't create new income opportunities."

Harte is a long-time proponent of the use of software and infrastructure as a service. He previously spoke with about the bank's and the need to focus on components and granular data to create new services for customers.

Harte told delegates at the TM Forum that the lack of focus on content will result in the banking sector falling behind. The Commonwealth Bank is in the process of an operations transformation that includes a step into 'everything as a service', he said.