Citi Asia Pacific Leads in Global Finance's 2020 World's Best Digital Bank Awards

Citi Asia Pacific's leadership and excellence in digital banking has been recognized in the first round of Global Finance's 2020 World's Best Digital Banks Awards program. The initial set of results includes local as well as regional category wins.

In the 2020 World's Best Corporate Digital Banks Awards, Citi swept 16 Best Corporate Digital Bank titles across Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The bank was also recognized for Best Online Cash Management Services in Asia Pacific, Best Online Treasury Services, Best Mobile Adaptive Site, Best Mobile Banking App and Best Open Banking APIs.

Since the start of the year, Citi's Treasury and Trade Solutions business in Asia Pacific has seen a significant acceleration in the adoption of its digital platforms and capabilities. Citi's corporate mobile app user base has increased by eight-fold year-on-year in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

Digital Onboarding—a solution that enables existing clients to open new and incremental accounts completely digitally—is now live in 10 markets in the region. In the first quarter of the year, over 1,000 accounts were opened digitally. A significant proportion of new and incremental accounts are now opened using the Digital Onboarding solution.

"Our investments in digital technologies have proven to be critical as the pandemic accelerates digital adoption among our client base. Through these capabilities, we have been able to effectively continue to support our clients and their business operations during this time. We remain committed to being the preferred digital platform for digital commerce and continue to expand our digital banking infrastructure to support clients now and for the future," said Rajesh Mehta, Asia Pacific Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi.

In the 2020 World's Best Consumer Digital Banks Awards, Citi was named Best Consumer Digital Bank in Australia, Hong Kong, Philippines, South Korea, Bahrain and the United Kingdom. Citi's Asia Pacific Consumer Banking business comprises 17 markets, 12 in Asia Pacific and five in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The Consumer Banking business was recognized for Best Information Security Management and Fraud Management across Asia Pacific, Western Europe, the UAE and Bahrain. Citi also won Best Mobile Banking Adaptive Site and Best Open Banking APIs for Asia Pacific. In Bahrain, Citi was recognized for Best Mobile Banking App and Best Mobile Banking Adaptive Site.

Giving customers the ability to do the majority of their banking through mobile despite varying lockdowns and restrictions due to the pandemic, mobile adoption in the second quarter of the year increased by 17% year-on-year. Digital acquisition for credit cards increased to 65% at the end of the second quarter of this year, compared to 44% in the previous year.

In response to the pandemic, Citi quickly developed a feature called 'Help' on the Citi Mobile app, enabling clients to send secure messages through the platform without needing to call in. In Hong Kong, an existing solution, Citi Live Chat, was expanded and the team introduced the first digital insurance sales program of its kind in the market.

Citi Asia Pacific and EMEA Head of Consumer Banking Gonzalo Luchetti said: "Digital and mobile banking are at the core of our strategy to offer clients a simpler, more intuitive and increasingly personalized client experience. Digital innovation is key to helping us offer a superior client experience, giving us the tools to be able to pre-empt and respond to client needs. This, in addition to our digital partnerships in the region, and introduction of new products and services on our digital platforms, is enabling us to successfully generate client-led growth."

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 brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

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Media Enquiries
Harsha Jethnani
Citi Corporate Affairs, Asia Pacific
852-2868-7738
harsha.jethnani@citi.com