To stay relevant, critical for banks to jump on the digital train

THE exponential rise in the use of mobile technologies and the proliferation of smart handheld devices are driving swift changes across industries. Younger consumers are demanding high-quality personalised experience through the use of digital channels that are location-aware and contextual-based, with the convenience and rich sets of services that they expect to access anytime, anywhere.

By 2020, the number of mobile subscribers in Asia Pacific will grow to 3.1 billion, or nearly three-quarters of the population. This means that almost everyone in the region will be connected via their smartphones. According to Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) , the mobile penetration rate has already reached 150 per cent as of June 2016.

Connected devices have become a lot more affordable, and people are turning to their mobile devices to conduct day-to-day activities. This shift in consumer behaviour has also impacted banking and finances industries. KPMG estimates that the number of people who bank using mobile devices will double to 1.8 billion by 2019, and projects that South-east Asia will be a main driver of this trend.