Philippine National Bank (PNB) is set to introduce a digital account-opening facility this year in a bid to improve its online banking services.

PNB President Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said in a recent interview with the BusinessMirror that the pandemic has highlighted the need for an efficient digital platform, which the bank is working for.

“A fully digital end-to-end account opening facility will also be offered early in 2021 to better assist customers in opening an account online,” Veloso told this newspaper.

In addition, PNB is expanding payment partnerships and offering quick response (QR) code services for payment and fund transfers. The bank said last year it was focused on enhancing its digital banking platforms given the accelerated shift to online transactions amid the lockdown restrictions.

“Our customers will be using better products next year as we continue to invest time and resources in improving usability and customer experience,” Veloso said.

PNB said it was mulling over a further increase in its IT budget for 2021 and 2022 amid the ubiquity of digital banking. The bank’s digital platform has around 696,000 users as of end-September last year. This figure is 30% more than what was recorded in 2019.

Business Mirror