Digital transformation must be driven by customer needs. Source: Shutterstock
UOB believes digital transformation is driven by customers
UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) Malaysia has just announced a new app to help customers looking to make an investment in real estate. Dubbed UOB GetBanker, the app is another step the company has taken in its digital journey to transform its business and improve the customer experience it provides.
The app simply matches prospective buyers (and agents) with a mortgage specialist at UOB in order to digitize the buying process.
“Property agents typically rely on their own contact list of bankers to help property buyers find a mortgage banker. However, these bankers may not always be readily available or familiar with the type of property the buyer wants to purchase.
The UOB GetBanker app addresses these issues by referring the prospective buyer to a UOB banker within minutes of generating a search,” explained UOB Malaysia MD and Country Head for Personal Financial Services Ronnie Lim.
However, the app doesn’t just stop at supporting individual buyers and agents. It also provides SMEs with the option to integrate the property financing function into their existing business operations to improve their access to bank financing for the acquisition of new properties.
Although the bank has a strong mortgage portfolio, the deep-dive into property financing with an exclusive app is an interesting move.
While it’s apparent that UOB Malaysia is tuned into its customers and is using customized insights to drive its digital transformation agenda, Tech Wire Asia reached out to the team behind UOB GetBanker to understand how the company really discovered the need for an exclusive mortgage app.
“We first discovered this idea when our mortgage specialists highlighted the challenges in expanding the current network of established property agents.
“At the same time, property agents also highlighted the difficulties in getting the right mortgage specialists who are familiar with the region where the property is located.
“Today, the GetBanker app enables the right match between property agents with all our mortgage specialists across all locations almost immediately based on the in-built auto-assignment algorithm within the app. At the same time, our mortgage specialists will have access to a pool of leads generated into their allocated localities.”
Obviously, the app is going to earn UOB more business but that’s a direct result of the company listening to its customers and bankers, and creating a tool fit for purpose.
While many banks now allow customers to submit loan applications online, UOB’s offering provides prospective buyers with advice about mortgages — which is their unique differentiator and might soon become a key competitive advantage.
Only time will tell how the app is really received in the market and whether it can really help customers solve their mortgage woes, but in the meanwhile, it’s a victory for the UOB GetBanker team and proof of new digital transformation capabilities for UOB Malaysia.
Soumik Roy is a business and technology specialist. He helps small and medium enterprise owners understand what's most important to their company's growth and success.