All Digital Banking: OCTO by CIMB Bank versus ING Banking PH

The use of smartphones proliferates and numbers of Filipinos are connected in the internet, banks are up-scaling too to keep up with the new demand. Banking activities can now be done online, most of the major Philippine banks can be accessed online through their app or through their website. But this new contenders in the Philippine commercial banking are offering a unique entry. They are not new in the industry and they are offering an all digital, mobile-first banking to their customers.

Their clients can do the banking within the comfort of their home or anywhere they are, deposit through convenient stores and partner payment centers, as well as withdraw to any ATM machines. We are actually late in this trend in banking but we are now on the way to adapt. According to McKinsey the Philippines had the lowest digital-banking penetration of any Asian market. Only 12% of Filipino respondents had tried Internet banking, compared with 28% in other developing countries of the region.

Use of smartphones to access digital banking also has
lagged behind considerably. In the Philippines, 35 percent of
digital consumers (defined as consumers who make
purchases online) own a smartphone, but only 9 percent of
Filipino consumers said they had used a smartphone to bank,
compared with 26 percent in developing Asia. (source)

The Philippines is the only country in the region where
the majority of consumers prefer to pay bills over
the counter, whereas in other countries consumers prefer
to use banks’ websites, according to the Unisys APAC Banking
Insights Survey. (source)

ING and CIMB are both offering an all-digital and mobile first banking in the Philippines. ING Group is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam and been in Philippines since 1990 providing wholesale banking services to international and local corporations and the first foreign universal bank while CIMB Group is a leading KL-headquartered ASEAN universal bank, one of the largest investment banks in Asia and one of the largest Islamic banks in the world.

Benefits of Digital Banking

• Save precious time – “Banking shouldn’t get in the way of your life” – by avoiding the bank’s queue to deposit or withdraw, you save so much time for yourself, time that you can spend to other important things that matter to you. It also saves money as you don’t have to spend gas or fare to visit the bank.
• Higher interest rate and no or fewer fees – both ING and CIMB are offering high interest in your savings up to 4% plus no maintaining balance and required deposit amount. Transfer and other fees that conventional banks charged are also waived.
• Availability convenience – You don’t have to travel far, as you can deposit through 7-eleven stores, partnered payment centers, pawnshops, and remittance centers as well as transfer money from other banks through the mobile app. You can also withdraw to any ATM machines without a charge.
• Eco-friendly – everything is online and through their mobile app, thus, less paper for printing and reduce carbon footprint.
• Branchless – conventional banks require you to visit your bank branch where you open your account for some transactions but for ING and CIMB they are all virtual, and banking is technically in your phone; no need to go anywhere.

Disadvantages of Digital Banking

• Lack of In-person support: When we entrust our money we want to feel confident that our money is safe with them. That’s why some of us prefer person-to-person conversations and handing over the hard earned money we have to the bank physically. If we have complaints sometimes talking to a real person in the bank is the best way for us because we feel that our concerns are taking care of and heard. In all-digital banking we don’t have this luxury because these banks are virtual, they have offices but I’m not sure if they will cater as much as how conventional banks cater to their customers. If you have a concern, they have a channel for you and resolution may take some time.
• Cyber Attack: Because they are running most of their operations online or over the internet there’s a chance of cyber attack problem however, these banks know what they are doing and most of the transactions are encrypted and safe. These banks are member, authorized, and insured by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas, so you are safe but just keep this in mind too that there’s still a possibility same as the conventional bank’s possibility to be heisted.
• Cheque Transactions: Only ING offers cheque deposit through their mobile app as of now and both ING and CIMB don’t have a cheque encashment service since they don’t have a brick-and-mortar branch.
• Availing Credit Card and Loan: You can loan through their app but no credit card service yet as of this writing here in the Philippines. Only CIMB offers a physical debit card but not all of their products and only the Fast and Fast Plus accounts.

CIMB vs ING, which one is for you?

If you are interested to join and wondering which bank is for you below are their similarities and differences.

Note: If you already have GSave in GCash then they won’t process your account in Octo app unless there’s a variation in your information. The GSave in GCash has a 12 months validity from it was opened after that you are forced to upgrade to GSave Full account which will require another KYC or Know-Your-Customer process.

For more info see links:
https://www.cimbbank.com.ph/amp/en/general/footer/faqs.html and
https://ing.com.ph/getting-started.html