Hong Leong Bank Becomes First Bank in Malaysia to Offer a Fully Digital Account Onboarding Experience

KUALA LUMPUR,Malaysia,Oct. 9,2020 -- Following the publication of Bank Negara Malaysia's guideline on Electronic Know-Your-Customer ("eKYC") on June 30th 2020,Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Islamic Bank ("HLB" or the "Bank") today announced a historic milestone by becoming the first bank in Malaysia to offer a truly digital onboarding experience for Malaysians looking to open a bank account; eliminating the need for physical branch or Self-Service Terminal visits.

A historic milestone for HLB (L to R: Galvin Yeo,HLB's GM of Personal Financial Services for Deposits & Digital,Fuda,Sik and Grover)

Customers only need to download the 'Apply@HLB'mobile app to open an account anytime,anywhere and a Debit Card will be delivered to wherever they are in Malaysia. This simple and convenient way of banking is timely given the ongoing COVID-19 health concerns and corresponding shift to digital 'everything'.

According to Domenic Fuda,Group Managing Director and CEO of HLB,"We are pleased to be able to help Malaysians bank safely amidst the on-going pandemic and are proud to be doing our part in pushing for greater digital innovation in the financial sector. This would further stimulate the country's Digital Economy growth while meeting the needs and expectations of an increasingly digital and mobile-first generation of consumers. We have seen a significant shift to digital banking over the past 7 months. Expanding our digital offerings with a first-of-its-kind digital account opening through eKYC will further propel the move to digital banking."

"As the first Bank in Malaysia to deliver a truly digital onboarding journey,we hope this delivers a significantly higher value-added customer experience and set a new benchmark for the industry," said Fuda.

With the 'Apply@HLB' mobile app,customers can open a bank account in three simple steps - verify identity with the national identity card and a selfie,fill in personal details and lastly,create a username and password for HLB Connect,the Bank's online and mobile banking platform.

Charles Sik,HLB's Managing Director of Personal Financial Servicessaid,"'Apply@HLB' allows us to safeguard the health and well-being of our customers,and staff at Bank branches,while still providing customers with the ability to access our financial products and services anytime,anywhere. In addition to account opening,we will soon activate a fully digital credit card and personal loan application process."

HLB's Chief Digital and Innovation Officer,Shailesh Groveralso added since the COVID-19 outbreak started,the Bank has accelerated the delivery of its digital roadmap to ensure customers are able to access the products and services on mobile. "While we have enabled online application for account opening for some time now,customers still had to complete the process by visiting a branch in-person for identity verification. 'Apply@HLB' closes the loop on the previous process,delivering an end-to-end digital account onboarding process which aligns with our digital at the core strategy."

For more information about 'Apply@HLB',please visit www.hlb.com.my/apply.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20201008/2944084-1?lang=0