Silicon Valley-based global analytics software firm FICO released its Consumer Digital Banking Survey showcasing that Filipinos are more comfortable opening bank accounts on their smartphones than consumers in the US and the UK.

The study showed that 26 per cent of Filipinos prefer to open a bank account on their phone, compared to 18 per cent in the US and 25 per cent in the UK.

Subhashish Bose, FICO’s lead for fraud, security, and compliance in Asia Pacific, lended his insight. “Filipino consumers are digital natives. Around 40 per cent of Filipinos have a smartphone and according to a recent study they rank in the top 10 mobile internet users globally, spending an average of 4.58 hours a day on their phones.”

The study showed that digital account opening is rapidly becoming the norm in the Philippines, with 76 per cent of consumers saying they would open some kind of financial account online. Of those that would open a financial account online, 40 per cent would consider doing so for an everyday transaction account, 38 per cent for a credit card, and 33 per cent for a personal loan.

However, Filipinos older consumers were more likely to be leading the digital push with the youngest Filipinos being the laggards with 46 per cent of those over 55 years of age said they would open a bank account online. Fourty to 45 per cent of 25 – 34, 35 – 44 and 45 – 54 year-olds said they would do the same, while just 28 per cent of 18-24-year-olds would open a bank account online.

Also Read: Digital payments startup Ayannah diving deep into Big Data

“The truth in the numbers here is far more nuanced,” explained Bose. “Younger Filipinos are adept at using smartphones and computers, however, many do not have the required identification forms to open bank accounts at a young age, don’t have a regular income, or are presented with bank account options that are not appealing. For example, many bank accounts in the Philippines require a minimum balance to avoid monthly account-keeping fees.”

“As consumers’ reliance on online services grows in response to COVID-19, we expect further shifts in adoption and indeed an acceleration and acceptance in opening bank account digitally. It is important that banks closely examine any points of friction in their application process to ensure consumers are not abandoning a process or switching to a competitor,” said Bose.

Filipinos expect account opening to be fully digital

The survey found that a large percentage of Filipinos had an expectation that they should be able to complete all aspects of account opening online or on their phone.

Out of the regular identity checks needed to open an account, 67 per cent of Filipinos thought they should be able to prove their identity by scanning documents or providing a selfie, 47 per cent expected to prove where they live without going offline, and 45 per cent said they should be able to set up a biometric such as a fingerprint scan at account opening.

If all actions required to complete an account opening cannot be accomplished in-session, only 41 per cent of respondents said they would carry out the necessary offline actions as soon as possible.

Around 33 per cent thought they would eventually complete offline actions such as taking a phone call, posting documents, or visiting a branch. A further 13 per cent said they would try a competitor while five per cent said they would give up completely.

Also Read: Fintech in the Philippines: opportunities, challenges and why global participation is critical

Overall findings demonstrated that financial institutions in the Philippines that don’t facilitate a completely digital account opening experience could lose over 40 per cent of their new business.

“There is research to show that only six to nine per cent of applicants move through the funnel and complete the process,” said Bose. “Banking executives should review the application completion for authenticated versus non-authenticated applications, as well as how many applicants with saved or abandoned applications return to complete the process.”

Outside the Philippines, FICO’s Consumer Digital Banking Survey was done in a quantitative poll of 5,000 adults (over 18) across 10 countries including Brazil, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Sweden, UK, and the USA.

More information can be accessed here.

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Image Credit: Yannes Kiefer on Unsplash

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Singapore-based personal finance app Fincy has secured US$11 million in fresh funding from its parent company GBCI Ventures, a venture building firm.

Fincy plans to use the funding for building its presence in Singapore and accelerating its user base and infrastructure growth, first across Southeast Asia, followed by the rest of Asia.

“GBCI Ventures has invested US$11 million in Fincy because we believe that by leveraging a secure financial infrastructure built on the blockchain technology and by offering round-the-clock customer support, Fincy can provide an affordable, contactless alternative to existing financial services, especially in a post-COVID-19 world,” said Douglas Gan, CEO of GBCI Ventures.

Launched in 2019, the app aims to provide an affordable alternative to existing financial services, starting with simplifying currency exchange via a multi-currency wallet. It also enables users to build their own social networks in-app and make contactless mobile payments.

Also Read: Singapore’s GBCI Ventures launches US$100M fund for Smart City development

Fincy’s contactless approach is already being utilised in Myanmar’s Yatai City. It is the provider of financial infrastructure to the city’s growing number of residents, who can use the app to make purchases, perform transactions, receive a salary, and manage their money without the need for physical contact.

Aside from Myanmar, Fincy is also heading the contactless mobile payments in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where it is a fully licensed money app accepted at more than 700 merchants and used by over 40 companies for payroll.

In the coming weeks, Fincy will be finalising an external funding round.
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Picture Credit: Fincy

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Global VC fund Big Idea Ventures (BIV), which runs a food accelerator in Singapore, said today that Swiss plant equipment manufacturer Bühler Group has made a strategic investment in its New Protein Fund.

The fund aims to invest in and accelerate up to 100 plant- and cell-based companies worldwide.

Temasek is also an investor in New Protein Fund.

“Together, we can support the growth of the new generation of leading plant-based companies in North America, Asia and ultimately, the planet. Bühler and BIV will work together to build great companies responding to consumer demands for great-tasting food that is good for them and good for the planet,” said Andrew D. Ive, Founder of BIV.

Plant-based foods have been gaining more recognition in recent times after the success of popular companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat.

The sector is predicted to reach US$14.32 billion by 2025 with growing venture capital interest in the plant-based protein market, especially during the recent outbreak of COVID-19.

The pandemic has also provided a surprise opportunity and boost to the plant-based industry as a significant number of people begin to switch from animal-based to plant-based proteins due to health and environmental reasons.

Ian Roberts CTO of Bühler recognises this problem and addresses his concern on the urgent need for collaboration with companies to bring more impactful and sustainable solutions when it comes to food supply.

“There is an urgent need for wide-scale collaboration if we are to make an impact on the climate and nutrition challenges within the next decade,” he said.

Also Read: News Roundup: Vertex Ventures invest US$5M in India-based fertility platform IVF Access

“Academics, startups, and established companies need to come together to innovate and find more sustainable ways to produce food. This is why we are partnering with Big Idea Ventures: to accelerate the journey for promising startups, to reinforce partnerships and startup ecosystems in Singapore and the US, and to do this with a clear focus on creating a more sustainable food supply for the future,”.

Bühler also has a joint innovation facility in Singapore that focuses on developing sustainable protein-based products and provides a one-stop-shop for the development and scale-up of new products for the market.

BIV has also participated recently in a community-led charity fundraising campaign to raise about 50,000 meals for those in need by offering mentoring and virtual classes to startup founders affected by the COVID crisis.

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Image Credit: Big Idea Ventures

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Singapore-based new protein startup Shiok Meats invests in Indian counterpart Evo Foods

Singaporean cell-based meat company Shiok Meats has invested an undisclosed amount of funding in Evo Foods, according to Greenqueen. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The India-based startup was founded in 2019 by Forbes India 30 Under 30 alumni Kartik Dixit and Shraddha Bhansali.

Evo Foods uses biotechnology to harness proteins derived from lentils to create a total vegan liquid egg product that is more sustainable in comparison to conventional eggs.

The company has said that it plans to launch its first commercial product by mid-September.

“We are proud that Evo has been garnering all the right attention from mission-aligned mentors and investors,” said Bhansali.

India’s Myelin Foundry raises new funding for its deep tech AI platform

India-based deep tech startup Myelin Foundry has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office Pratithi, according to a press statement.

With this round, the company will focus its efforts on penetration in the OTT market in and outside India.

Founded by ex-CTO of Tata Sons Dr Gopichand Katragadda, Myelin builds edge AI products on consumer devices with its proprietary algorithms for video, voice, and sensor data.

Also Read: News Roundup: Vertex Ventures invest US$5M in India-based fertility platform IVF Access

“We are thrilled to have Kris join us in the exciting journey of developing global first products from India. Kris has been an innovation evangelist and a startup supporter personally as well as through CII. We look forward to Kris’s guidance as we deploy solutions at the intersection of AI and complex unstructured data for edge devices,” said Dr Katragadda, founder of Myelin Foundry.

The startup had also previously secured US$1 million in September 2019 from early-stage VC Endiya Partners.

Aavishkaar Capital to raise US$150M impact fund for Southeast Asia

Indian VC Aavishkaar Capital is raising US$150 million to invest in emerging markets in Southeast Asia, according to Dealstreet Asia.

According to the report, this would mark Aavishka’s largest fund to date with the target to close next year.

Aavishkaar Venture Capital provides private equity and microfinance solutions for early stage startups and currently manages assets of up to US$1 billion.

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Image Credit: Unsplash 

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an emergence of new lifestyles and customer behaviours, as well as a new level of customer expectations. These shifts also introduced unprecedented opportunities and challenges in customer engagement and customer experience.

VP of Customer Excellence at Tokopedia, Rudy Dalimunthe, joined us for a webinar to share how Tokopedia, as a technology company, adapted and redefined its customer engagement and customer experience during COVID-19.

He also shed light on making a successful shift and smooth execution of a new customer engagement strategy and rolling-out of fully remote customer service operations.

Key takeaways

• Customer expectation pre- and post-COVID is different. Now, we have to be more empathetic and also respond sooner.
• Earlier, there was the option of offline, but now there is a lot of panic amongst buyers if they don’t receive their package.
• Since the pandemic, Tokopedia saw a high increase in essentials, sports goods, and the likes. There was an increase in traffic of support channels up to about 40 per cent.
• Their customer support is split into categories such as physical goods, logistics, payment, etc. Each one having various channels within them to manage the inflow of customer queries
• Your CX team is more like customer ambassadors and must align with the product and tech team to make your service better
• Tokopedia also channelised social media to use customers to help other customers to reply queries via QnA
• Millennials may not tag your brand when submitting complaints, but always tag them back when it resolved. They feel motivated especially if the tweet goes positively viral.
• If using a bot, make sure it goes beyond just answering FAQ kind of questions. Use AI to make it capable of responding to queries
• CX is beyond customer service, you begin to react to customer emotion. It is about exploring more ways and relationship marketing on how to surprise your customer
• In the context of CX, saying no includes spelling it out to the customers what they don’t need and why
• We need to be sure which customers need to be followed, don’t go overboard with “the customer is king”. Not all customers are your customers. Sometimes it can also be a competitor’s ploy. So customers need to be handled tactfully
• A consolidated marketing and CX data report should be a part of the product development plan. It is a good representation of the on-ground reality
• CS/Customer Experience (CX) for small teams: Start with using a CRM system instead of doing it manually. For ticket management and record management, don’t compromise technology.
• How to reduce complaints-per-transaction value and the number of positive mentions in social media is a good metric to evaluate CX

Food for thought

• Are chatbots worth it?
• How can CX get a board seat in the company, and CEO’s budget?
• Is there any CX community in Indonesia or SEA where CX professionals can interact and share best practices?

Resources

Catch up on the workshop with the full recording below:

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