, APAC
175 views

Alliance Bank's Alliance Digital SME Honored as Financial Inclusion Initiative of the Year - Malaysia

Its transformative Alliance Digital SME earns recognition for its seamless digital banking journey and significant shift towards branchless banking.

Alliance Bank Malaysia has been recognised for its groundbreaking initiative, Alliance Digital SME, which has earned the prestigious title of Financial Inclusion Initiative of the Year at the ABF Retail Banking Awards. This revolutionary solution has transformed the way businesses of all stages interact with the bank, providing a branchless experience and empowering customers with a seamless digital banking journey.

The Digital SME initiative was launched in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, which underscored the need for remote and digital banking services. Alliance Bank's forward-thinking approach allowed customers to proceed with loan applications and business current account openings through virtual interviews for verification, eliminating the need for physical branch visits.

One of the key achievements of the Digital SME initiative was the remarkable shift in customer behaviour, with a staggering 96% of all consumer banking transactions transitioning from physical branches to digital platforms. This impressive transformation exemplifies Alliance Bank's commitment to embracing cutting-edge technology to enhance customer experiences.

A pivotal aspect of Alliance Digital SME is the introduction of virtual relationship managers (RMs) who conduct remote video calls to perform fully remote assessments on digital loan applications. This innovative approach enables customers to receive personalised assistance and guidance throughout the application process, irrespective of their location. The remote-assisted onboarding feature has proven to be especially important for more complex products, such as loans, where customers may have questions about interest rates and loan tenures.

To ensure the success of the initiative, Alliance Bank employed an Agile Development Framework and rolled out several Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) to continually improve the customer journey. These MVPs included remote digital SME applications, the virtual RM model, and the integration of WhatsApp as an additional channel for customer interactions.

The achievements of the Alliance Digital SME initiative are remarkable and far-reaching. Since its launch, the time required for loan applications has been significantly reduced, with a jump from 26% to 46% in submitted applications. Moreover, the virtual RM model has improved efficiency, with each RM now able to handle three times more virtual interviews than before. Additionally, leveraging WhatsApp as an additional channel has resulted in a 40% increase in completion rates for the full remote onboarding process.

Join Asian Banking & Finance community
Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!

Exclusives

Private fund tokens may be the future of investing
Kinexys seeks to keep a token’s sensitive financial information from prying eyes.
More tax perks could drive Philippine SMEs to go ‘green’
The Southeast Asian nation’s 1.1 million small businesses can be a target for green loans. 
Asia struggles with G20 payment targets
The ultimate goal is for cross-border payments to achieve “the speed of the internet.”