au Jibun Bank’s AI Foreign Currency Automatic Saving Plan helped increase its retail deposits by 36%

au Jibun Bank reported an increase in its foreign currency deposit balance to more than $569 million and a 36% YoY growth in retail deposits.

• au Jibun Bank introduced AI Foreign Currency Automatic Saving Plan which helped increase its retail deposits by 36% YoY
• The bank was first in Japan to introduce a deposit product that provides foreign currency savings services integrated with AI technology
• The bank leveraged digital solutions to address the need for foreign currency deposits

Singapore, 3 June 2021 - au Jibun Bank’s AI Foreign Currency Automatic Saving Plan was recognised as the Best Deposit Product at The Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2021.

This year’s finalists were au Jibun Bank’s AI Foreign Currency Automatic Saving Plan, CIMB Philippines’ UpSave Account, KEPT by Krungsri, ICICI Bank’s ICICI STACK, and UOB’s Lady’s Account.  

Market: au Jibun Bank’s Foreign Currency Saving Plan helped boost retail deposits by 36% YoY

au Jibun Bank introduced the AI Foreign Currency Automatic Saving Plan and reported more than $569 million in foreign currency deposit balance, an increase of 10% year-on-year (YoY) in March 2020. The retail deposits of the bank grew by 36% YoY to reach more than $13.2 billion.

As the banking relationship grew, the overall profitability of each customer increased as customer acquisition and cross-sell costs decreased. ICICI offered ICICI Stack which helped increase the overall balances of its customers. UOB launched the UOB Lady’s Account that helped grow customer acquisition. KEPT by Krungsri saw a large number of mobile app downloads while CIMB Philippines has doubled its deposit customer base.

Customer Experience: The bank was first in Japan to introduce foreign currency savings services integrated with AI technology

au Jibun Bank pioneered the foreign currency savings services with AI technology. Its AI Foreign Currency Saving Plan has a user-friendly interface and low transaction threshold which bridges the investment gap for customers holding foreign currencies. As a function of automatic savings, the high judgement accuracy in recommending the most favourable time to deposit makes it a unique service globally.

ICICI Stack saw an improvement in sales productivity by leveraging customer conversation. UOB’s Lady’s Account is the only savings account in Singapore that provides female cancer benefit in which the sum assured is based on saving balances in the past three months.

KEPT by Krungsri offers self-service onboarding with identity verification using blockchain technology of Thailand’s National Digital ID (NDID) infrastructure. CIMB Philippines offers free life insurance which only needs a low maintaining balance for the customer’s deposit account.

Digital: The bank leveraged digital solutions to address the need for foreign currency deposits

au Jibun Bank introduced digital solutions to address customer needs early before the pandemic. The bank observed the increasing need of customers to start foreign currency deposits exchanged automatically from Japanese yen at the estimated “best” timing of the month. Customers can easily start AI Foreign Currency Automatic Saving Plan for as low as $1. The trading of five currencies including US dollars, euros, Australian dollars, South African rands, and New Zealand dollars were made possible. With the integrated AI embedded in its services, the bank was able to predict the timing at which the yen appreciates the most against the selected currency in each month, and it automatically deposits the requested amount. The AI regularly conducts deep learning based on the latest data on currency exchange and market movements to improve its accuracy.

Emma Li, assistant manager at au Jibun Bank, said, “It gives us great confidence to provide customers with better digital experiences in the future. As a joint venture company of KDDI, the second largest telecom carrier in Japan operating with the brand name ‘au,’ and MUFG Bank, the largest commercial bank in Japan, we will continuously leverage expertise and knowledge from both sides, and also learn from leading fintech partners to create our own business model and services that are best for Japan market”.

About The Asian Banker International

The Asian Banker is the region’s most authoritative provider of strategic business intelligence to the financial services community. The global research company has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Manila, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Dubai, as well as representatives in London, New York, and San Francisco. It has a business model that revolves around three core business lines: publications, research services and forums. The company’s website is www.theasianbanker.com

You may visit the Excellence in Retail Financial Services page at http://awards.asianbankerforums.com/retailfinancial/

For further information, you may get in touch with:

Mobasher Zein Kazmi

Head of Research

Tel: (+61) 452 514 145

mkazmi@theasianbanker.com