THE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said majority of its newly opened accounts during height of the pandemic belong to new clients under 30.
In a response to queries by the BusinessMirror, BPI said the majority or 60 percent of accounts opened in 2020 were new acquisitions. Around 50 percent of those accounts were opened by clients below 30 years of age, with an average balance of P 10,000 per account.
The bank also said that at the height of the lockdowns to address the pandemic, their users largely relied on digital banking.
“Digital is definitely here to stay. In 2020, we have totaled 59.1 million open banking transactions worth P131 billion. We believe this will increase further in the coming years,” BPI said.
BPI also noted changes in loan behaviors of their clients during the pandemic.
“For auto loans, we saw a shift to intro-level units which reflects the public’s basic need for safe transport. For housing loans, we’ve had discussions with some developers catering to the low-cost market on how we can tap their buyers. This shows the continued demand for housing,” BPI said.
The bank also said that while Filipinos, especially the younger ones, are getting more and more comfortable with digital banking, there is still a lot of work to be done.
“There is a huge change in behavior as people shift from physically going to the branches to doing transactions digitally. It is true that certain sectors are able to adapt to this change, but others are having difficulty,” BPI said.
“The need for financial services via digital means has been highlighted in this pandemic. We, however, need to digitize without sacrificing Risk, AMLA [Anti-money laundering act], and Compliance considerations. We need to protect our clients from phishing, vishing, etc.,” it added.
“Banks will continue to educate the public about digital banking and introduce financial innovations. More people will become aware and financially savvy. There may be hiccups along the way but it will be good for many Filipinos in the end,” the bank further said.
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