Citi Mobile claims one million users in AsiaPac; 95% of transactions now occur away from branch

16 October 2012 | 6233 views | 2 Citi Web screen shot

Citibank claims to have signed up more than one million active subscribers to its Citi Mobile package in the Asia Pacific region, just four years after launching the app.

At the end of September, Citi had 1.1 million active mobile banking users in the region and is adding between 60,000 to 70,000 new mobile users every month. In total, the bank sees between 12 to 13 million online and mobile log-ins every month.

Launched first in 2008 in Hong Kong, the application has since been rolled out across the region. Other developments in the pipeline include tablet banking launches in Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, China, Malaysia and Indonesia in the first quarter of next year.

The mobile banking milestone in Asia builds on Citi's stated ambitions to become the world's digital bank. Data shows that 95% of all transactions for Citi in Asia now occur outside a branch.

Despite this, the bank continues to invest in its branch network.In 2010, Smart Banking branches, which embrace modern technology to serve clients quicker and more simply, were launched first in Asia and then globally. These branches are also bringing in several thousand new clients monthly, at a rate three- to five-times faster than in traditional branches, says the bank.

"Currently we have a few markets where digital channels contribute in excess of 25 percent of Citi's new credit card accounts," says Rajesh Yohannan, Citi's global head of mobile banking and Asia pacific head of eBusiness. "With our new capabilities, we are certain that the share of new business through mobile will grow exponentially."

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Ketharaman Swaminathan - GTM360 Marketing Solutions - Pune | 19 October, 2012, 18:32

"These branches are also bringing in several thousand new clients monthly, at a rate three- to five-times faster than in traditional branches,...". This is further endorsement of what has been quite evident on the ground and is increasingly being voiced by analysts e.g. Forrester: "Branches Will Not Disappear, But They Will Change" (http://blogs.forrester.com/auke_douwe_veenstra/12-10-09-is_there_a_future_for_bank_branches).

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Ketharaman Swaminathan - GTM360 Marketing Solutions - Pune | 22 October, 2012, 15:39

This McKinsey article on the growing role of digital marketing in today's world of the new consumer journey notes, somewhat ironically, "one consequence of the new world of marketing complexity is that more consumers hold off their final purchase decision until they’re in a store." Maybe it's consumer behavior of this nature - whether or not it sounds logical to the digerati - that prompts Citi to continue to invest in its branch network despite having a popular mobile banking app.

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