Singapore digital banking era will put focus on SMBs, consumer trust

With Singapore slated to issue up to five new digital bank licences, incumbents will have to build on existing customer trust and enhance their online services to meet increased consumer expectations and remain competitive. Digital market entrants, on the other hand, need to ease security concerns and identify profitable business models even as they work to scale their customer base. 

The introduction of digital banks would “shake up” Singapore’s banking industry where 70% of online consumers performed banking activities on a smartphone, noted Zhi-Ying Barry, Forrester’s senior analyst for e-business and channel strategy. Some 45% of local consumers said they visited a bank branch to conduct banking activities, she said, citing the research firm’s survey. 

Consumers also expected banks to deliver beyond basic services such as money transfers to offer better management tools to support the customers’ financial posture. Asked what they preferred to transact on their main banking app, Singapore respondents pointed to the need to create savings objectives and track their budgets. They also wanted to plan and manage their finances digitally. 

Digital banks would challenge their incumbent competitors by targeting “progressive pioneers”, or what Forrester defined as consumers who were more open to trying out new technologies. Amongst these consumers, 32% said they would consider switching to a digital-only bank in the next two years. They would do so to be able to open accounts on digital touchpoints, to gain relevant insights on their banking needs, and to have more transparency. 

More than half of Singapore respondents would retain their money with companies that provided them with the tools to manage it. Few local banks, however, currently offered digital money management tools such as budget tracking and spending analysis, Barry noted, adding that digital players in other regions already used such tools to offer new value for their customers.

United Overseas Bank’s TMRW in Thailand, for instance, and Monzo in the UK provided their customers with tools to categorise and assess their spending in real-time to help them manage their finances, she said. 

“While some established banks in Singapore are starting to pick up speed in this area, there’s still a major gap to fill,” the analyst said. 

In addition, Barry said, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) wanted better financial services. Noting that there were some 220,000 such businesses in the city-state, contributing almost $200 billion to the local economy and accounting for two-thirds of employment, the Forrester analyst said few SMBs were well-served by traditional banks. 

The research firm’s survey revealed that one-third of SMB operators said they would switch their primary banking services provider to another. 

In this aspect, digital banks would pose a challenge to incumbents by working to better serve SMBs, Barry said. She noted that traditional banks, in Singapore and worldwide, failed to keep pace with these businesses’ changing requirements and increasing demands for banking services. 

“They do a poor job of helping business owners get loans, manage cashflow and payroll, and receive financial insights and advice,” she explained, “Powered by advanced data and technologies, digital banks can fill the void by focusing on markets that traditional banks consider unprofitable or risky.”

Pointing to Tencent’s WeBank as an example, she said the Chinese market player offered a microlending product that tapped technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence to perform risk analytics and modelling. It did this with the aim to widen SMBs’ access to loans in China, she noted. 

Despite their market potential, digital banks first would need to resolve several key challenges, such as ensuring they had a clear path to business sustainability. 

Barry said: “While they need scale to achieve profitability, they can’t sustain large marketing campaigns, so the key to survival is acquiring new customers efficiently. For this to happen, they need to win customer trust, drive advocacy, and convert customers to a primary relationship.”

To establish customer trust, these digital players would have to ease security concerns, which was a major barrier in Singapore where just 51% of online consumers felt safe using their financial data online. This was one of the lowest amongst Asian markets Forrester surveyed, the analyst noted. 

She suggested that digital market entrants could build customer trust by introducing new services, such as European digital bank Revolut, which offered disposable virtual debit cards as a way to reassure customers about the security of online payments.

Barry anticipated concerns about digital banking security to limit digital banks’ ability to attract customers at least in the short term.

While this meant established banks had some advantages, they would need to be mindful of their digital counterparts’ better digital services and lower costs, she said. Incumbents would need to improve their own digital offerings to ensure they could retain customers.

For one, traditional banks should continue to nurture customer trust, especially since 79% of Singapore online consumers said they trusted their primary bank to act in their best interests with regards to their financial posture. In comparison, only 11% trusted digital banks to do likewise. 

“The trusted relationship that incumbent banks have built with customers over the years will be their most important competitive advantage in the digital era,” Barry said. She also urged these traditional market players to improve their digital services portfolio and digital customer experience. They would need to drive their digitisation efforts and “fully embrace” a digital business culture and strategy, she said. 

Singapore in June announced plans to issue up to five digital bank licenses as part of efforts to add market diversity and boost the banking system in the country, as it looked to become a digital economy. This meant that non-bank organisations would be able to apply for a license and offer digital banking services, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). 

RELATED COVERAGE

Singapore to issue digital bank licenses

Move to issue up to five new digital bank licenses will add market diversity and boost the local banking system in Singapore’s bid to become a digital economy, says industry regulator, which will begin reviewing applicants in August.

Singapore eases approval process for fintech trials, unveils cybersecurity rules

Monetary Authority of Singapore launches an “express” 21-day route to approval for fintech companies applying to test products in a sandbox environment, and mandates measures aimed at improving cybersecurity posture of financial firms.

Singapore banks offered $21M in funds to boost cybersecurity capabilities

Monetary Authority of Singapore is dishing out S$30 million (US$21.88 million) in a new grant to help local financial institutions boost their cybersecurity operations and skillsets, funding up to half of such expenses.

Singapore banks given more time to adopt e-payment protection guidelines

Originally scheduled to come into effect at the end of January, e-payment user protection guidelines will now be rolled out on June 30, after industry regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore agrees to give local banks more time to implement the necessary support systems.

Singapore looks to prep financial workforce for data analytics, automation era

Country’s government agencies identify 121 job roles in banking, asset management, and insurance that they believe will be necessary in future when the financial sector sees increased adoption of data analytics and automation.

READ MORE HERE