Kalgoorlie-headquartered and ASX-listed authorised deposit-taking institution, Goldfields Money Limited, unveiled a deal yesterday to move it closer towards its stated goal of becoming "the digital bank of the future". Under a joint venture arrangement with the Sydney-based fintech start-up, Mooola, another of Goldfields Money's  ambitions - to expand its geographic reach into the east coast of Australia and further afield - also took a step upwards. Under the deal, Mooola is to provide Goldfields Money with the technical services and advice needed to develop a digital software platform for its financial products. In return, Goldfields Money will provide core banking and financial products to the customers of Mooola, under Mooola's own retail brand. Goldfields Money said the joint venture would "help to attract a new type of customer demographic to its business" and assist with the digital transformation of its banking processes and systems. The joint venture will also help Goldfields Money expand its national distribution footprint, sorely in need of a boost as its traditional market dwindles. Established in 1982 as Goldfields Credit Union, the company demutualised and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in May 2012. "The distribution of core banking product model we have agreed with Mooola represents a model we hope to replicate with other distribution partners, ideally using technology developed by Mooola that is licenced to distribution partners of Goldfields," said Simon Lyons, who started as Goldfields Money's chief executive officer in January 2016. There are a number of conditions to be met before the deal is sealed, Goldfields said in an announcement to the ASX. These include obtaining regulatory approval and entering into formal agreements by 30 April 2016, although this date can be extended by agreement between the parties. New customers who come to Goldfields Money via the Mooola platform will benefit from the Australian Government's Deposit Guarantee Scheme. The longer-term plan is for Mooola to launch a "disruptive retail banking proposition" to its Gen Y target audience (18 to 35 year olds) later this year, with its co-founder and serial technology entrepreneur Andy Taylor on board. Mooola, which has been in customer volunteer testing mode for the past month, according to its website, is Taylor's newest tech venture. Taylor left SocietyOne in 2012 to set up Yatango, a retail based software, services and analytics platform that went into voluntary administration after a terminated reverse takeover on the ASX in 2015. [NOTE: This para has been edited] This arrangement appears to be part of a larger roll-up of niche segments within the banking sector. For instance, loan advisor and retail debt portfolio