Citi Named Asia's Best Digital Bank by the Asset Magazine

February 07, 2018

Hong Kong – Citi has been recognized as Asia's Best Digital Bank by the Asset Magazine. The award recognized the bank's digital progress which has contributed to a strong year of growth for the bank's consumer franchise.

Citi's Asia Pacific Consumer Bank—which covers 12 markets in Asia and five in EMEA—ended the fourth quarter of 2017 sustaining growth and profitability with the sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth. For the full year 2017, Asia Pacific GCB's revenues were up 7 percent at US$7.3 billion and net income up 16 percent.

In the editorial write up, the Asset said, "Citi continued to enhance its digital offering by developing intuitive tools to serve their customers across its footprint, and saw a significant number of digital onboarding acquisitions with many clients using its various digital channels. The bank also wins Digital Bank awards in several localized markets, for their commitment in creating a frictionless digital experience."

Citi also picked up Best Digital Bank in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia and a number of other product awards including Best Retail Mobile Banking experience in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore.

Citi also picked up Best Retail Social-Media Banking Experience, Hong Kong, Best Digital Wealth Management Experience, Hong Kong, Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application, Hong Kong [for Citi Mobile], Most Innovative Social Media Project, Hong Kong [for Citi Cash Back Card] and Most Innovative Emerging Digital Technologies Project, Singapore [for Citi Bot].

"In Asia Pacific we have accelerated efforts to transform our Consumer Bank model from analog to digital to be relevant to our clients in all our 17 markets with focused investments in digital, data and our wealth model. Our performance and this recognition is the result of our strategy to reallocate resources for client-centric growth delivering simpler, relevant, personalized and digital client experiences," said Anand Selva, Head of Asia Pacific Consumer Banking.

The rapid adoption of mobile and other digital channels has transformed how Citi's clients bank, sign up for cards or loans, pay their bills or use the bank's wealth management services. Today, more than half Consumer Bank clients in the region use digital channels with mobile being the fastest growing channel year-on-year.

Digital highlights in 2017 included:

Citi was the first bank in Asia and the first in Citi to offer innovative digital lending solutions like Loan on Phone (LOP) across all markets and Instant Easy Payment Plan (EPP) across 10 markets. Over 40 percent of LOP volume is now acquired digitally.
During 2017 the bank launched its first Facebook Messenger Banking Chabot in Singapore and rolled out video banking in India—firsts for Citi globally.
Mobile became the most preferred channel for Citi clients in Asia Pacific with 50 percent growth in Mobile Banking in 2017.
Opened up APIs across Asia Pacific and signed a white-label agreement with Qantas, the first-ever joint airline/card app leveraging the API infrastructure.
The bank also launched a number of digital credit card partnerships including Amazon with the ability to pay with points at checkout.
Launched a successful Own the Affluent campaign across 12 markets in Asia, fueling significant growth in client acquisition and net new money with digital tools such as Total Wealth Advisor and Portfolio 360 to support RMs.
In 2017, client acquisitions across all segments grew—Citi Private Client, Citigold and Citi Priority were up double digits. Wealth Assets Under Management (AUM) also grew double digits reflecting the impact of new Wealth Management Hubs and digital progress.
Continued to develop key digital partnerships with the likes of WeChat, Alipay in China, Grab and LINE across ASEAN and in Taiwan, PayTM in India as well as SingSaver and MoneySmart in Singapore.
The offering of P2P payment solutions increased with the launch and partnerships with PromptPay in Thailand, JETCO Pay in Hong Kong, PayNow in Singapore and UPI in India.
Wallets launched in 2017 included Samsung Pay in six markets and AndroidPay in two markets.

Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerages, transaction services, and wealth management.

Media Contacts:
James Griffiths
+852-2868-7668
james.a.griffiths@citi.com

Citi Named Asia's Best Digital Bank by the Asset Magazine

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