OCBC Bank in Singapore’s first instant account opening
OCBC claims to be spearheading digital innovation in Singapore
OCBC Bank has launched a digital instant account-opening service for Singapore residents or nationals, becoming the first Singapore bank to have such a service.
The national data repository MyInfo allows customers and non-customers to use OCBC Bank’s real-time, digital know your customer (KYC) process to open an OCBC 360 Account through mobile device or desktop in under five minutes.
Verification and authentication happens in real time; once this is completed, you get a new account number within seconds of a successful application that you can start using right away, the bank says, to immediately make fund transfers via PayNow or Fast, and start earning bonus interest from performing various transactions.
MyInfo is the digital vault of verified personal data designed by the Singapore government. Logging in using your SingPass, you simply consent to OCBC Bank using your MyInfo profile to set up a new account.
When it comes to KYC, OCBC Bank has digitised the KYC process, and for the first time, is able to authenticate customers in real time using electronic means so that approval for successful account applications is granted instantly.
Aditya Gupta, OCBC Bank’s head of e-business, says: “Instant is the new black. Our ambition is to have one in every two customers on-boarded digitally with zero human intervention, and this launch is a significant milestone in that journey. We will be extending this service to a broader suite of our products shortly.”
The value in going digital
In 2014, OCBC Bank claimed to be the first bank in Singapore to enable customers to apply for a bank account online with the launch of the OCBC 360 Account, which also rewarded customers with bonus interest for doing more banking transactions using their account.
Since then, OCBC says that more than 20% of OCBC 360 Accounts have been applied for remotely on a mobile device or desktop.
The OCBC 360 Account customer base has grown 30% year-on-year and has captured a sizable base of the professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) salary crediting.
According to the bank, more than 90% of OCBC 360 Account customers are digitally active and have accessed OCBC Bank’s digital platforms at least once in the past three months. Digitally active customers are found to own twice as many banking products as those who are not digitally active.
Even this year, the efforts by the bank to increase its digital footprint are considerable.
In April 2018, OCBC Bank introduced instant credit card approvals and provisioning to Apple Pay for all customers, even new-to-bank customers. OCBC Bank also rolled out AI-powered voice banking services through the Google Assistant and on Google Home devices, as well as biometric-powered services.
