The bank's consumer banking products can now be applied for, approved and used instantly.

OCBC Bank is making getting a card or loan more accessible and convenient by enabling digital applications and instant approval and use of its key consumer banking products. The bank said that by leveraging national data repository MyInfo as well as its own real-time digital KYC and credit assessment systems, it can offer customers bank cards, OCBC ExtraCash personal loans, and OCBC EasiCredit lines instantly.

«This is a natural progression of our pursuit of the new digital – to provide instant, embedded and frictionless access to all our products and services for the convenience of customers, enabling them to start a banking relationship with us seamlessly and instantly,» Dennis Tan, OCBC Bank’s Head of Consumer Financial Services Singapore, said in a statement.

He added that the bank would extend instant approval to secured lending products such as home and car loans in the near future.

Digital Onboarding

This is the latest in a series of digital innovations OCBC Bank, Singapore's longest-established bank, has rolled out to enable instant, hassle-free and secure access to its core products. According to the bank, OCBC 360 accounts have grown three-fold since digital applications and instant approvals were allowed for bank accounts in June 2018, with one in three OCBC 360 accounts now acquired digitally.

«I expect that one in every two OCBC Bank customers to be on-boarded digitally by 2020,» Tan said.

To apply for a banking product, one should select the «Use MyInfo» option, log in using SingPass and allow OCBC to retrieve personal details, such as proof of income and home address. There is no need to submit any additional documentation – the customer only needs to review the pre-filled fields of the application form and submit it for instant approval.

According to the bank, its agents acquire the majority of their customers at public roadshows, so digitalising card applications is crucial in alleviating customer pain points, which include the hassle of paper applications, waiting days for approval and receiving the physical card.