Singaporeans and permanent residents can now open and start using an OCBC 360 Account instantly

Singapore, 5 June 2018 – OCBC Bank is the first Singapore bank to roll out a digital instant account-opening service for all customers who are Singaporeans or permanent residents. Even if a person does not currently have any relationship with OCBC Bank, they can leverage the national data repository MyInfo and – for the first time – OCBC Bank’s real-time, digital KYC process (e-KYC) to open an OCBC 360 Account using a mobile device or desktop. It all takes less than five minutes via the bank’s website, with no need to visit a bank branch or provide documents. Verification and authentication happens in real time; once this is completed, the customer gets a new account number within seconds of a successful application. They can then start using the account right away for functions like electronic transfers, rather than having to wait a few days for application approval.

There are two main processes involved in OCBC Bank’s digital instant account opening. The first is submitting an application, which is made fuss-free thanks to MyInfo, the digital vault of verified personal data designed by the Singapore government. Logging in using their SingPass, customers simply consent to OCBC Bank using their MyInfo profile to set up a new account. An online OCBC 360 Account application form is then pre-filled with the customer's personal details, so they do not need to key in details or submit any additional documentation.

The second process is to verify that the customer is who they say they are, which is known as KYC or “know your customer”. Even after OCBC Bank successfully integrated its systems with Myinfo in May 2017 in a successful industry pilot – so customers could pre-fill application forms with their government-verified personal particulars – they still had to wait for their account to be approved because KYC checks had to be conducted, typically using humans. Now, however, 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.

Mr Aditya Gupta, OCBC Bank’s Head of E-Business Singapore, said: “I believe this instant, hassle-free and secure access to our core banking products will make it hugely compelling for people to initiate and deepen their primary banking relationship with OCBC Bank. 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.”  

Driving digital with the OCBC 360 Account

In 2014, OCBC Bank was the first bank in Singapore to enable customers to apply for a bank account online with the launch of the OCBC 360 Account, the first account in Singapore to reward customers with bonus interest for doing more banking transactions using their account, such as crediting their salary, making bill payments or spending on their credit cards. Since then, more than 20 per cent of OCBC 360 Accounts have been applied for remotely on a mobile device or desktop, with account approvals taking up to three days.

Now, with the MyInfo integration and the bank’s real time e-KYC process in the account opening journey, account approvals are instant for successful applications. Customers will be able to use the OCBC 360 Account opened online to immediately make funds transfers via PayNow or Fast, and start earning bonus interest from performing various transactions. This fast and seamless on-boarding proposition will sit well with time-strapped PMETs and young professionals who are highly digitally engaged and who make up two-thirds of OCBC Bank’s existing OCBC 360 Account base. The OCBC 360 Account customer base has grown 30 per cent year-on-year and has captured a sizable base of PMETs’ salary crediting – over 40 per cent of deposits growth comes through OCBC 360 Accounts – while also driving day-to-day banking and the use of PayNow.

More than 90 per cent 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, and the number of OCBC 360 Account customers who take up financial products has grown by more than 10 per cent since a wealth bonus interest was introduced in 2015. The wealth bonus interest was increased in 2017 to 1.2 per cent, with a lower tier of 0.6 per cent for products with smaller premiums also introduced to make this bonus interest more accessible to customers.

Five steps to opening an OCBC 360 Account instantly

Visit https://openaccount.ocbc.com/

1. Select “Use MyInfo” as the option to apply
2. Log in with your SingPass using 2-Factor Authentication (2FA)
3. Select “I Agree” to permit OCBC bank to retrieve your data for this application
4. Review pre-filled fields on the OCBC 360 Account application form, upload image of your signature and submit to complete the process
5. Once the application is approved, you will be shown your new OCBC 360 Account number on screen

Leader in digital banking

OCBC Bank has constantly worked towards making banking seamless and embedded in our customers’ natural behaviour and interactions. 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 was the first in Singapore to roll out AI-powered voice banking services through the Google Assistant and on Google Home devices in April 2018. OCBC Bank led the way in Singapore in launching voice-powered conversational banking for retail customers in February 2018, which allows customers to ask Siri to check their bank balances, credit card overview and make e-payments. It was the first bank in Singapore to introduce biometric authentication to access bank account details with OCBC OneTouch in March 2015, and OCBC OneLook in November 2017 on the OCBC Mobile Banking app, leveraging fingerprint and facial recognition technology. OCBC Bank then offered customers the convenience of banking on their wrist, launching its mobile banking app for Apple Watch in March 2016. In November 2016, OCBC Bank enhanced its OCBC Pay Anyone e-payments service by enabling customers to send money via OCBC Pay Anyone directly within Apple’s iMessage on iPhones, and via any app on Android devices using the OCBC Keyboard in August 2017.