SINGAPORE – OCBC will progressively launch what it says is South-east Asia’s first AI-native mobile banking app, introducing two virtual avatars that can engage customers around the clock with personalised wealth management advice.
To further support its wealth push, the bank will hire 600 additional relationship managers (RMs) for its consumer banking business over the next three years.
The initiatives are part of the bank’s “next frontier” strategy to harness artificial intelligence, digital technology and data to drive growth, said OCBC group chief executive Tan Teck Long at the unveiling of the new app to the media at OCBC Centre on July 1.
“AI-native” describes a technology, system or organisation built from the ground up with AI as its foundational core.
Some 50 OCBC premier private clients – with minimum assets under management of $1.5 million – and a selected group of the bank’s employees in Singapore will be invited to test the beta version of the new OCBC WoW app.
OCBC will progressively increase the number of customers testing the app and providing feedback to refine the experience. Subsequent phases of the beta version will be rolled out, with enhancements driven by iterative prototyping and user feedback.
Separate from the OCBC Digital app, which enables customers to manage their finances, pay bills and track investments, OCBC WoW is a standalone app featuring two AI-powered avatars that deliver hyper-personalised wealth management services in real time.
Customers will interact with “Wendy” and “Wayne” through voice or text, where the avatars will provide them with sophisticated portfolio analysis to better understand underlying exposures and sources of risk.
This helps customers make more informed decisions, optimise portfolio allocation and improve long-term investment outcomes, said OCBC.
Customers will also be able to see their investment portfolios and stay up to date with personalised market news, real-time data, the bank’s expert insights, and curated investment ideas across markets, geographies, currencies and investment themes.
On the OCBC WoW app, customers can chat with Wendy and Wayne by voice or text for advanced portfolio risk analysis.
PHOTO: OCBC
When asked if OCBC will extend the app to retail customers, Tan said it will consider other customer segments after the beta, with a fuller roll-out expected at a later date.
“Our whole focus in the initial launch is on the wealth business, before extending to further customer segments,” he said. “It is actually very useful for the retail customer segment, where we can provide some education for retail customers. We did not launch to retail customers at the beginning because we find that the retail segment tends to have simpler needs.”
For example, if they want to buy shares or unit trusts, they can do so on the OCBC Digital app, he added.
Despite introducing avatars, the bank still sees the human touch as important, hence its parallel push to expand its RM headcount.
“At the end of the day, customers still want the human touch,” said Sunny Quek, OCBC’s head of global consumer financial services. “That’s where the RM comes in and plays their role. Other things that are not so important, or can be done at your convenience, the avatar will fill that role.”
He added that each RM typically manages 250 to 300 customers, and the avatars will allow them to engage with their customers more effectively. With the help of avatars, the interaction and engagement are “going to be on a different level”, he noted.
Tan said the revenue and number of transactions between avatar advisers and human advisers are “going to be very different”.
“The 600 RMs will get efficiency, and therefore they should be able to support a higher business volume,” he added.
The avatars will initially engage customers in English, with other languages such as Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia to be progressively introduced.
Future enhancements will include tailored insurance solutions and banking services, an expanded range of avatars, and exclusive offers to mark customers’ investment milestones – alongside rewards designed to suit a wide range of lifestyle preferences.
OCBC aims to double its consumer wealth management business by 2029, a year ahead of its original 2030 target.
To reach this goal, the bank is bringing together its consumer bank, Bank of Singapore, and its insurance arm, Great Eastern, to drive wealth income growth through integrated digital capabilities, closer collaboration and regional expansion.
In April, Citi rolled out Citi Sky – aimed at delivering timely guidance for clients, including prompts and market insights – to Citigold clients in the US. Initially available in English and Spanish, the agentic AI system on the Citi mobile app features a virtual human avatar that clients can converse with in real time to ask financial questions.
