1 in 5 Filipinos Will Abandon Online Bank Application If You Ask More Than 5 Questions

By Shiela Bertillo

In a digital banking survey conducted by FICO in January 2021, 3 in 5 Filipinos say that they are expecting to answer 10 questions or less or they will abandon the process for a bank account. While 1 in 5 Filipinos will back out from opening an account via a mobile app or website if they are asked more than five questions.

To research the industry standards, 1,000 Filipino adults were surveyed, along with 13,000 consumers in the USA, UK, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. 

Moreover, the study also found that 61 percent of consumers are more likely to open an account digitally than a year ago, and 26 percent of Filipinos say financial institutions ask too many questions from potential clients.

Aashish Sharma, Senior Director of Decision Management Solutions for FICO in Asia Pacific noted how the pandemic ”is driving a digital-first mindset in the Philippines with 61 percent of consumers more likely to open an account digitally than a year ago.” 

“The number of consumers who prefer to open bank accounts digitally has grown to 41 percent and continues to rise, which is significant in a country with a strong branch culture,” he added.

The survey results revealed that Filipinos had the highest expectations for completing applications in 10 questions or less; 65% for Buy Now Pay Later products, 62% for savings accounts and 60% for transaction accounts.

Interestingly, Filipino’s expectations were significantly higher compared to other countries in the survey. For instance, only 41 percent of UK consumers and 51 percent of Australian consumers expected to answer 10 questions or less when opening a transaction account.

In conclusion, Filipino consumers don’t like friction and inconvenience in their digital experiences. They expect their main bank to know them, 69 percent want to prove their identity online and 26 percent of Filipinos say that financial institutions ask too many questions.

“Where there is friction there is opportunity, as the quote goes,” said Sharma. “Either you solve it for your customers today, or a competitor will do it tomorrow. Consumers want banks to find answers to application questions through technology approaches such as improved identity checks, transaction history analysis, open banking and government databases.”

However, the survey also showed that increased friction and security is deemed appropriate by consumers when it comes to applying and onboarding for specific high-value financial products.

Consequently, 61% or more than half of customers polled expect greater rigor when it comes to mortgage applications despite relatively high levels of ease and confidence in applying for day-to-day online financial products such as current accounts, savings, loans and credit cards.

The results showed that only 28 percent of Filipinos would apply for a mortgage digitally, compared to the survey average of around one in three (34 percent). 

In all countries such as the USA and UK, in-branch openings are preferred to online methods. South Africa was a modest outlier with 43 percent of customers favoring online mortgage applications.

On the other hand, nearly two in five Filipinos polled said they were willing to answer 11 to 20 or more questions when it came to applying online for a mortgage. While Filipinos who open an account digitally prefer to carry out the process entirely in their chosen channel, whether it be smartphone or website; and if asked to move out of channel to prove their identities, many of them will abandon the application, either giving up on opening an account completely or by going to a competitor. Of those who don’t immediately abandon, up to an additional 32 percent will delay the process.

FICO’s survey found that any disruption matters. Asking people to scan and email documents or use a separate identity portal causes almost as much application abandonment as asking them to visit branches or mail in documents.

This article is published on BitPinas: 1 in 5 Filipinos Will Abandon Online Bank Application If You Ask More Than 5 Questions