Ms Carnegie, the former head of Google in Australia, began working as ANZ's group executive for digital banking three weeks ago, and on Thursday she warned against complacency among "very tenured" workers in finance internationally.

While she said Australian lenders were among the most innovative in the world, they would still face "a world of hurt" if they did not "get moving" in the battle to remain relevant against technology-based rivals that are eyeing the big profits in banking.

Around the world, Ms Carnegie said there were some long-serving bankers who had seen technology cycles come and go, and they were betting the current wave of competition would fade.

However, Ms Carnegie said competition from technology-based firms would have a real impact on banks, as customers became more comfortable managing their finances digitally.

"One of the issues we have in banking in general, globally, is there is a lot of very tenured people in that industry," Ms Carnegie said.

"They've all kind of seen tech cycles come and go, and there are some people who are sitting there going 'well, ok, we just need to white-knuckle through yet another one, but this will soon pass," she said at The Australian Financial Review's Innovation Summit in Sydney.

Technology firms including "fintech" start-ups and global giants such as Apple and Google have in recent years sought to challenge banks in core markets including payments, consumer and business lending, wealth management and financial advice.

Banks are fighting back by investing millions into upgrading their technology systems, and most are investing in or working with start-ups.

Ms Carnegie, who has the brief of delivering a "superior digital experience" to ANZ's millions of customers, identified two key reasons why banks needed to innovate.

One was that banking was "essentially a massive data or knowledge play", and the industries that relied on data were at high risk of being disrupted by digital businesses. The other was that customers were becoming more comfortable with doing their banking using technology, which is reflected in declining use of branches.

"I've just spent a number of years looking at the pace, the quality, the direction that innovation is going globally. At least from my purview, there is no doubt in my mind that our financial institutions, if we don't get them moving, are in for a world of hurt," Ms Carnegie said.

Ms Carnegie said fintech appeared "a bit overheated" but she believed "formidable" competitors would emerge to rival the major banks.

Australians have adopted new types of financial technology such as contactless payments enthusiastically, and Ms Carnegie said that on some measures, the local banks were among the most innovative in the world.

Even so, at ANZ she will have the role of fostering an "innovation culture", as well as running digital projects, innovation and the bank's relationship with fintech firms.

ANZ's chief Shayne Elliott has put an emphasis on technology since starting in the job earlier this year, with ANZ the only one of the big four to offer customers Apple Pay.