The majority of consumers in Asia Pacific are open to switching from traditional lenders to branchless, virtual direct banks, according to a recent survey by Mckinsey & Company.
Over 60 percent of APAC consumers are open to switching to direct banks, according to McKinsey’s '2021 Asia–Pacific Personal Financial Services Survey' report.
There was little difference between developed markets (62 percent considering or may be considering a switch) and emerging markets (64 percent) in the region. Interestingly, emerging markets outpaced developed markets in APAC with regards to fintech app and e-wallet penetration at 54 percent versus 43 percent, respectively.
Consumers in Hong Kong (67 percent) and Singapore (over 70 percent) expressed greater willingness to switch compared to the regional average.
Strategic Focus
According to the report, there are three strategic areas for banks to focus on with regards to ongoing digitalization: the future role of branches, rethinking customer engagement and market positioning.
«The fundamental lesson of the digital disruption is that long-term benefits—including market share and profitability—accrue to organizations capable of deploying digital services, advanced analytics, and AI technologies to meet individual customers’ needs, at scale, with minimal cost to add scale,» the report said, adding that top banks have thus far held onto their leading positions.
The report was based on a survey of around 20,000 urban-banked respondents in 15 APAC markets.
