Paper put in place by Singapore’s simpler banking plan
Simples!
Singapore is piloting a new initiative to let people apply for a bank account without needing to submit supporting documentation.
The Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, Government Technology Agency and Monetary Authority of Singapore, have begun a pilot with four banks to explore simplifying online banking transactions with the use of the government’s MyInfo website service.
As part of the pilot, prospective customers of United Overseas Bank, Development Bank of Singapore, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered with a registered profile on the MyInfo website can apply.
Michael Gorriz, group chief information officer, Standard Chartered, says a consumer “only has to enter the data once and then decides who has access to the data”, while the bank gets qualified data from the consumer, which the consumer “puts all due diligence and care in to keep it up to date”.
Gorriz adds that the Singapore government has an “advantage”, because by giving other companies the possibility to work with this data, this will give an “uplift to the economic development of the country”.
Banks currently require users to submit copies of their identity, income and CPF documents (central provident fund – a social security savings plan) for applications. With MyInfo, the parties say customers can pre-fill these government-verified personal particulars into the necessary forms, and avoid the need to submit supporting documents.
MyInfo has been rolled out for SingPass users – an online account management for access to Singapore government e-services – since May 2016. MyInfo will be available on “most” government digital services with SingPass two-factor authentication by 2018.
After this pilot, MyInfo “may be extended later this year” to other transactions such as applications for credit cards and home loans. According to the organisations, it could also be extended to other sectors such as insurance.
