Standard Chartered Saadiq embraces digital

By Digital News Asia September 11, 2018

45% of its clients use digital banking; of these, 90% of their transactions are done digitally
The first bank to enable Live Bank video banking for online banking

Standard Chartered Saadiq embraces digital

STANDARD Chartered Saadiq Bhd is on the right track to being a digital bank with a human touch, with nearly half of all its’ clients embracing digital services for their banking needs.

Of Saadiq’s total client base, 45% use digital banking; and of these, 90% of their transactions are done digitally, via online or mobile banking, self-service ATMs and branch Straight-Through-Processing, or branch automation.

Standard Chartered chief executive officer Mohammad Ali Allawala (pic), said the 45% adoption rate by Saadiq clients is very encouraging.

“This is because the latest World Islamic Banking Competitiveness report by Ernst & Young showed that Islamic banking users have typically lagged behind conventional banking users when it comes to adopting digitalisation,” he said.

According to the report, 38% of conventional banking users surveyed used digital banking, in contrast to only 26% of Islamic banking users.

This is indicative of the way Standard Chartered Saadiq has embraced technology to make banking simpler, faster and better for Saadiq’s clients, Ali said, adding that the bank’s commitment towards being an agile, digital bank has also seen Saadiq being recognised as ‘Global Finance’s Best Islamic Digital Bank - Malaysia’ 2018 recently.

“Saadiq clients can perform a wide range of services and transactions without ever needing to walk into a physical branch. From balance enquiries and balance transfers, to changing their address or contact information – everything can be performed online via a digital channel,” said Ali.

Standard Chartered is also the first bank in Malaysia to offer a complete range of banking transactions via its mobile app, once the client has authenticated their credentials via Touch ID.

“We are also the first bank to enable Live Bank video banking for online banking. To become a next generation digital bank, we must start with meeting the needs of the next generation of clients,” Ali added.

“I am proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but we will not rest on our laurels. Accolades are an honour, but we will never stop striving towards fulfilling our clients’ needs and being here for good.”

Aside from Malaysia, Standard Chartered was also named Best Islamic Digital Bank in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Global Finance win brings the total awards tally for the global Saadiq franchise to 35 since the start of 2018.