KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) expects the number of its online banking transactions in the country to increase to 6.4 billion this year, boosted by the new Maybank2u website, which will be launched to the public on April 19.
Maybank Group Head, Community Financial Services Datuk Lim Hong Tat said since the introduction of the bank’s online service in 2000, the number of transactions conducted on its online platform had risen steadily each year, reaching 4.27 billion valued at RM318 billion in 2017.
“With the advent of mobile banking and the increasing use of smartphone, coupled with growing Internet penetration, the growth in online transactions had accelerated, recording a 49 per cent increase last year,” he told reporters during the preview of the new website here today.
Lim also said that last year, the total number of online banking monetary transactions via Maybank2u totalled around 360 million and at its peak, the website recorded some 20 million transactions per day.
Last year, 99.6 per cent of the bank’s total consumer banking payments and transfers were conducted via the online platform and the bank foresees the trend to also penetrate the neighbouring countries where it is currently operating.
“As of now, about 660,000 of our customers in Indonesia and 275,000 customers in Singapore are utilising online banking. With the new reimagined Maybank2u website, we expect the number to increase by 20-30 per cent per year,” he said.
The bank’s Indonesian and Singaporean customers will be able to access the new website either by end of this year or later next year.
Asked if the higher utilisation of the online banking would allow the bank to reduce its branches, Lim said: “The rationalisation of branches is a journey we go through, and of course, digitalisation will enable us to move a bit faster... but having said that, we will still relocate the branches where necessary.”
He said for example if 500 employees were to retire, Maybank would relocate or reduce the number of staff.
So far, the bank has managed to reduce manpower by 3,000 employees, which helped it to reduce cost.
“We want to have a humanise approach and not be disruptive due to the digitalisation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the newly-launched website comes with a complete change of user interface and offers an enhanced experience when transacting.It has also been simplified by taking into account the personalised needs and feedback from customers.