OCBC customers ramp up adoption of digital services amidst pandemic

The number of SME accounts opened digitally more than doubled in Q1.

Oversea-China Banking Corporation (OCBC) saw a surge in customer adoption of digital services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank revealed in its virtual annual general meeting (AGM) on 18 May.

The number of small and medium enterprise (SME) accounts opened digitally increased by 2.4 times in Q1 compared to the same period last year, according to data from OCBC. About 91% of all SME accounts are now done digitally.

Almost half or 49% of SME loans were also applied digitally in Q1, compared to only 30% in Q1 2019.

In the consumer banking segment, the number of account openings opened digitally almost doubled in Q1 compared to last year. Online trading transactions also skyrocketed 104% YoY in Q1.

OCBC added that there was “minimal disruption” to service levels despite the circuit breaker measures implemented, which drove the banks to temporarily close 22 of its 46 branches island-wide.

The bank also plans to invest more on digitalisation and technology, as well as increased adoption of digital services to translate to higher profits in the long-term as this would translate to lower costs due to fewer physical branches being opened, OCBC chief executive officer Samuel Tsien told shareholders during the bank’s virtual AGM, according to reports.

The circuit breaker measures saw the bank ramp up services digitally to meet customer needs. These include video and tele-advisory services for wealth management clients; digital and electronic authentication for transaction and trade instructions; and short videos to guide their less digital-savvy customers to adopt OCBC’s digital channels.

Relief applications were also processed and approved digitally in Singapore and Malaysia.

Looking ahead, OCBC expects muted loan growth and net interest margin (NIM) compression in the coming quarters due to rate cuts, as it braces for the crisis to spread over to 2021.