Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – As part of the bank’s digital banking thrust, OCBC Bank Malaysia has announced the roll out of ‘OCBC eBiz Account’, a new type of business account catered to local SMEs, of which they can apply for entirely remotely without the need to step into a branch.
Such feature is made possible through the bank’s electronic know your customer platform (eKYC), which is supported by CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd (CTOS).
The OCBC eBiz Account is open only to SMEs with two or fewer directors or shareholders, which represents the bulk of OCBC Bank’s typical existing SME customers.
The bank is rolling out the online account at a national scale, following its pilot tests in the Klang Valley in February and then nationwide in April. The account, with a relatively low initial deposit of RM500, comes with complimentary business internet banking services Velocity@ocbc and access to OCBC Mobile Banking.
According to Wong Chee Seng, head of emerging business at OCBC Bank, the move is part of the bank’s overall digital roadmap to meet the growing needs of SMEs looking to digital banking solutions to further enable them while making things that are more quickly accessible as well.
“Remote account opening was previously the mainstay of consumer banking and tended to benefit only individual customers rather than businesses. The OCBC eBiz Account will benefit SMEs significantly at the very outset of their relationship with us. They can skip the queues at the branches and avoid the crowds altogether. In a matter of minutes, they will be able to complete their application for an online business banking account at their convenience and verify their identity via the OCBC SME eKYC app. Thereafter, and if the application is successful, the Bank will contact the customer to share with them their account number and login ID for business internet banking,” Seng explained.
He also added that they are expecting a good take-up from this offering and hope to see at least 6,000 new business accounts through this digital channel by the end of the year. In addition, he stated that the national rollout of the OCBC eBiz Account is timely given the complications and uncertainties surrounding movement beyond one’s home due to the ongoing pandemic.
