Digital investments up as banks explore virtual wealth conversations
Singapore
NOT only has the volume of e-commerce and peer-to-peer digital transactions grown as Singaporeans hunker down in their homes, banks here have also recorded spikes in applications for investment products online over the past months.
At UOB, for example, online gold purchases grew more than 20 times in March, compared with the year before. This mirrors the global rush for gold, which is often regarded as a hedge against the wealth-withering effects of inflation.
Digital applications for unit trusts also reached a record high in the same month, said UOB's Aaron Chiew, who leads its mobile and digital team. Unit trusts enable investors to pool money with one another in order to invest in a wider range of assets; successful investments add value to the fund and their returns are then distributed back to investors.
At OCBC, investments in unit trusts went up four-fold compared to a year ago in March - or 21/2 times in the first quarter of 2020, compared to the preceding quarter.
The bank also recorded growth in sales of other investment products. Sales through robo-advisor service OCBC RoboInvest jumped 31/2 times (or 240 per cent); the bank's blue-chip investment plans logged a 20 per cent hike in sales, compared to in March 2019.
In its effort to move more wealth management conversations into a virtual space, OCBC is piloting a mobile advisory platform so that customers can consult wealth and investment advisors and buy products via video-conferencing, or over the phone.
Since the start of Singapore's "circuit breaker" period, the bank has also enabled digital placement of fixed deposits, an investment option popular among among elderly customers.
Head of digital and innovation at OCBC Pranav Seth said it may not be possible to move all investment activities online, but that the bank is working towards equipping its agents to do voice and video calls while still "maintaining the human touch and expertise" key to the investing experience.
Other banks in Singapore are also taking steps to move services online. HSBC, for instance, is rolling out video-conferencing to the application of new home loans and opening of new deposit accounts - requests that were traditionally fulfilled on-site.
When Singapore's circuit breaker kicked in on April 7, HSBC's frontline relationship managers and investment specialists began using video tools to interact with the bank's Premier and Jade customers.
Singapore's largest bank DBS, which piloted its tele-advisory service in March, has had a surge in customers wanting to begin trading and share financing at this time. A DBS spokesperson said the bank is seeing record levels of self-directed investing activities, such as those around equities and forex trading, and investment of funds.
Overall, cashless transactions have soared this year across various banks, with customers being urged to stay at home and amid some concern over the hygiene of cash.
The number of contactless transactions at DBS has almost doubled from last year, with spending at online marketplaces and on food delivery registering significant growth.
OCBC has seen the amount transacted over peer-to-peer service PayNow jump three times year on year over the first quarter; at UOB, e-commerce transactions grew by 36 per cent year on year over the same period.
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