The Philippines still has the lowest digital-banking penetration rate in Asia, including the use of smartphones to access online bank accounts, according to a 2014 survey by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. The consultants found that while 35 percent of digital consumers own a smartphone, a mere 9 percent use it for mobile-banking transactions.
To address the gap and in the face of more diversified, innovation-driven services in the online-banking segment, publicly listed Asia United Bank (AUB) became the first among local lenders to enter the online-banking space in 2007 with its Preferred Online Banking service that offers features and capabilities for a richer, more secure online-banking experience. The service, the lender said, has encouraged further user adoption.
Officials said that in 2014, AUB became the only bank in the Philippines to offer a Chinese option in online banking in a bid to be more customer-friendly to a growing Chinese clientele.
AUB’s Preferred Online Banking was linked with its Virtual Teller Kiosk (VTK) service that automatically queues user transaction with any bank branch in the Philippines. The VTK eliminated the need for physical queuing and increased convenience with the next-generation iPad version. This feature offers greater accessibility that gives users “access online wherever, whenever.”
Preferred Online Banking allows for real-time fund transfer in any AUB account, as well as real-time viewing and printing of user’s daily transaction history, monthly statement of account, and images of issued and returned checks. These financial transactions include telegraphic transfers and bills payment, including Manila Electric Company (Meralco) utility payments.
The McKinsey & Co. survey, which polled about 16,000 banking customers across 13 Asian markets, also revealed that security remains as a concern, with almost two-thirds of Internet users saying they avoided digital banking because it is unsafe and too complicated.
AUB addresses this in its Preferred Online Banking by having a two-factor authentication system that allows users to log in using their password and security token.