DBS, POSB to provide instant approvals for credit cards, credit line

DBS Bank has launched an online application service that will allow it to provide new-to-bank and existing customers instant approval for DBS/POSB credit card applications, as well as enable customers to open a DBS Cashline immediately.

With the national platform MyInfo, banks can offer a straight-through application process to the 3.3 million SingPass holders in Singapore. Consumers do not need to provide physical documents. DBS said that it typically takes up to a week for new-to-bank customers to receive their credit card or gain access to Cashline.

To use this service, customers can submit an online application via DBS/POSB Internet banking or the bank's websites, where they will be prompted to use MyInfo by logging in to their SingPass accounts. Upon consent, MyInfo will retrieve personal data from relevant government agencies to pre-populate relevant fields such as a customer's name, address and Notice of Assessment.

Back-end operations such as know-your-customer processes are also automated, while meeting Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) compliance standards, DBS said.

UOB said that it began integrating MyInfo into its digital application and approval processes for all savings and current accounts, as well as car loans, from July this year. It followed up using MyInfo for home loans in August, and for credit cards in September.

"We soft launched MyInfo for credit card applications last week and have already successfully processed applications," said a UOB spokeswoman. 

OCBC Bank said in June this year that it allowed customers to apply for its OCBC 360 Account instantly through the use of MyInfo. "Digital accounts opened have since grown threefold, and we have expanded our instant account opening service to all our core current and savings accounts including our FRANK, Bonus+ Savings, Monthly Savings and Statement Savings accounts," said Aditya Gupta, head of e-business Singapore, OCBC Bank.

"Our ambition is to have one in every two customers on-boarded digitally with zero human intervention, and we will be extending this service to a broader suite of our products, including credit cards and lending products, soon."

Jeremy Soo, head of consumer banking group (Singapore) at DBS Bank, said: "Our focus here at DBS is to ensure customers can access our services with minimum fuss - MyInfo allows us to do this without compromising on quality, speed and accuracy."

He added that MyInfo adoption has been "rapidly increasing" since the service was introduced in March 2017, with one in four DBS/POSB customers using MyInfo for online application services when given the option.

"We expect this to increase with our latest credit card and DBS Cashline capabilities. We look forward to rolling out more services with MyInfo by the end of this year."