Hong Leong Bank offers fully digital account onboarding in Malaysia

By Edil Corneille

Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Islamic Bank announced today the provision of a digital onboarding experience for Malaysians wanting to open a bank account. The announcement follows the guideline published by Bank Negara Malaysia on Electronic Know-Your-Customer (eKYC) on June 30, 2020. Citizens do not have to visit the physical branch or self-service terminals which holds significance in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic where social distancing is the norm.

According to The Future of Digital Banking Report 2020 by IBS Intelligence, consumer migration away from branches to digital channels drives the need for seamless experiences. The report informs on a recent personal finance survey revealing a 27 percent decline in phone and branch use in Asia with a 37 percent increase in internet and mobile use.

To avail the facilities customers need to download the ‘Apply@HLB’ mobile app to open an account anytime, anywhere. A debit card will be delivered to the customer.

Domenic Fuda, Group Managing Director and CEO of HLB enthused, “We are pleased to be able to help Malaysians bank safely amidst the on-going pandemic and are proud to be doing our part in pushing for greater digital innovation in the financial sector. This would further stimulate the country’s Digital Economy growth while meeting the needs and expectations of an increasingly digital and mobile-first generation of consumers. We have seen a significant shift to digital banking over the past 7 months. Expanding our digital offerings with a first-of-its-kind digital account opening through eKYC will further propel the move to digital banking…”

With the ‘Apply@HLB’ mobile app, customers can open a bank account by verifying the identity with the national identity card and a selfie, filling in personal details, and creating a username and password for HLB Connect, the bank’s online and mobile banking platform.

Charles Sik, HLB’s Managing Director of Personal Financial Services enunciated, “‘Apply@HLB’ allows us to safeguard the health and well-being of our customers, and staff at Bank branches, while still providing customers with the ability to access our financial products and services anytime, anywhere. In addition to account opening, we will soon activate a fully digital credit card and personal loan application process.”

HLB’s Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, Shailesh Grover apprised, “While we have enabled online application for account opening for some time now, customers still had to complete the process by visiting a branch in-person for identity verification. ‘Apply@HLB’ closes the loop on the previous process, delivering an end-to-end digital account onboarding process which aligns with our digital at the core strategy.”