Mobile banking has overtaken branch banking in Singapore by popularity, with a 15% jump during the past 12 months, according to market research company J.D. Power.
The company's 2018 Singapore Retail Banking Satisfaction Study also revealed that the banking sector’s digital transformation remains on course although a number of roadblocks to overcome remain before Singapore can truly be considered a digital and cashless economy.
Chief among these roadblocks is user experience. Among mobile banking customers, 46% indicate having experienced a problem with their mobile banking app, such as long loading times and login problems, which is a higher percentage than the 43% recorded in 2017.
“As banks continue to evolve the mobile banking user experience and digital offerings, they need to place the customer at the heart of their transformation. This may not only help to improve the perception of the bank as customer-oriented and innovative, but also deepen the relationship with their customers and build trust,” said Anthony Chiam, regional practice leader, Financial Services at J.D Power.
Building trust and confidence becomes even more crucial, as 41% of customers not yet using mobile banking app cite security and trust as the primary reason, an increase of 7 percentage points from 2017.
Customers are facing an abundance of choice, amplified even more by disruptions in the industry, such as the trend toward virtual banking.
Among customers who say they would be open to virtual banking—banking with no physical branches—52% indicate they would do so with an entity outside of the banking sector, such as FinTech or technology companies; however, 66% of customers say they will remain with their current bank even if all of its physical branches were closed.
The survey found that mobile wallet use is on the rise with 64% of bank customers surveyed confirming use of at least one mobile wallet or payment app, higher than in Hong Kong (52% in 2018) and Australia (19% in 2017) .
The most frequently used mobile wallets are DBSPayLah! (28%); ApplePay (13%); GrabPay (12%); and NetsPay (12%).
First published in FinTech Innovation