How cloud banking bring greater financial inclusion across SEA

How cloud banking bring greater financial inclusion across SEA. Source: Shutterstock

Thai digital bank TMRW’s success mantra? Continuous improvements

BEING digital-first or a digital-native does not afford any protection against obsolescence in today’s world. Singapore’s UOB understands that.

It’s why TMRW, the Singaporean giant’s mobile-only digital bank in Thailand, believes in continuous improvements.

Launched earlier this year with an aim to expand its footprint across the ASEAN, the digital bank’s value proposition was that it could make banking simpler, more transparent, and more engaging for its customers through the use of data.

TMRW translates transaction data into actionable insights to make the banking experience interesting and fun while enabling its customers to be smarter at saving and spending. As customers spend more time with TMRW, the mobile-only bank becomes even more familiar with their wants and needs to serve each one better.

At the time of the launch, TMRW was the first mobile-only bank in Thailand that enabled its customers to open a bank account and to authenticate their identities without having to visit a branch.

“Opening a TMRW account is as simple as uploading a photo ID-card with as few online forms to fill out as possible. Thereafter, TMRW customers can authenticate their identities any time at any TMRW self-service kiosks located at more than 200 outlets across Bangkok,” said a company spokesperson.

Now, the company announced that it has enabled fingerprint and facial biometrics to make it speedier and safer for customers to open their TMRW accounts.

“We welcome our customers’ feedback as it gives us the opportunity to improve TMRW in ways that matter most to them,” said UOB (Thai) Head of Retail Digital Natee Srirussamee.

“For example, a small percentage of customers using fingerprint biometrics to authenticate their account at TMRW kiosks found the experience not seamless enough so we enhanced this with the latest facial recognition technology to ensure a smoother account opening process for all.”

TMRW claims that the augmented biometrics capability is part of a suite of new features that the mobile-only bank has rolled out to enhance the customer experience.

“To do so, the Bank conducted surveys with more than 4,000 customers to understand more deeply how they engage with TMRW. TMRW then used those insights to improve its app so that it continues to be relevant to its customers’ needs and priorities.”

Other improvements that TMRW has made include a refreshed user interface customized for customers, with streamlined information on the home page and fewer steps to pay bills and manage credit cards, in real-time.

Since its launch, TMRW has also managed to scale the number of its self-service kiosks — from 200 in March to 350 in December.

Going into 2020, TMRW seems to be well-positioned to continue to delight customers, thanks to its constant efforts to leverage new technologies and refine the product and resulting experience. Competitors will need to make efforts if they want to keep up, especially in Thailand’s tough digital-first market.