INTERVIEW
CIMB Niaga offers branchless banking with OCTO Mobile The app serves 2.7m users and sees a 130.5% increase in financial transactions annually.
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ith Indonesia’s vast geographical area, information dissemination and banking infrastructure are still focused on big cities. This encourages the banking industry to launch digital banking that can be accessed from anywhere, even on the outskirts. Based on the results of the National Financial Literacy and Inclusion Survey, financial inclusion in terms of accessibility of financial services and products reached 83.60% in Indonesia’s urban areas, whilst only showing 68.49% in rural areas. CIMB Niaga clearly saw this trend of digital banking opportunity in the country and updated its offerings with new and improved features. Asian Banking & Finance spoke to the President Director of CIMB Niaga, Lani Darmawan, to learn about the current trends and challenges faced by banks in Indonesia. She also discussed CIMB Niaga’s strategies in relation to the industry’s banking demands. What are the current trends in the banking industry and how does CIMB Niaga respond to this trend? The current trend is the emergence of a lot of digital banking. But what becomes our note is in terms of its unique selling point. Long before the boom of the trend, since 2017, CIMB Niaga has prepared itself to always focus on developing products and digital access. When the pandemic came, we were ready to serve the needs of customers who are more dependent on digital services. Of course, there are other digital banks appearing, but in terms of features, we are very complete. For example, we have various products for transactions such as payments using QRIS for QR scan with several sources of funds including savings, credit cards, rekening ponsel (mobile accounts), and cardless payments. We also have the most complete investment products such as mutual funds or reksa dana, bonds, rupiah deposits, foreign exchange, insurance, and term savings. We provide loan products such as credit card lists, three months fixed instalments with interest rates of 0%, personal loan to cash withdrawal from credit card limit. The key is only one—we present features that are relevant to the needs of customers in OCTO Mobile. We always update the display so it is easier for customers to use and enhance our security technology so that it provides more security for digital transactions. What problems are people still experiencing in accessing services of their banking system in the midst of current banking digitalisation and how does OCTO Mobile solve these problems? The vast geographical area of Indonesia, so that the dissemination of information as well as infrastructure is still focused on a few big cities. However, with OCTO Mobile, 26 ASIAN BANKING & FINANCE | Q4 2022
OCTO Mobile is one of CIMB Niaga’s strategies to provide a convenient and safe digital banking experience for customers (Photo: Lani Darmawan, President Director, CIMB Niaga)
we have a savings account opening feature, so it is no longer a problem for cities that we have not yet reached by branch offices. Because now customers can open savings accounts and transactions banking from anywhere, as long as the place has an internet signal. Education is also an important thing, specifically how easy and safe it is to transact through digital channels as long as customers follow the instructions from the bank.
OCTO Mobile puts forward advanced technology without forgetting the human aspect
What kind of experience for customers does CIMB Niaga want to build through OCTO Mobile? OCTO Mobile is one of CIMB Niaga’s strategies to provide a convenient and safe digital banking experience for customers. CIMB Niaga’s customers from various segments can fulfill their banking needs more easily and seamlessly via smartphones from anywhere and anytime without having to come to the branch office. OCTO Mobile puts forward advanced technology without forgetting the human aspect. We look at what aspects are relevant to customer needs, when they need it, and what is needed in the future. So that our strategy is more customer centric. One of the approaches taken by OCTO Mobile is to build a strong emotional bond rather than just being transactional. Thus, OCTO Mobile is known as a digital product that transforms daily financial needs. For example, customers
