Singapore government have began a pilot with four banks to explore simplifying online banking transactions with the use of the government’s MyInfo service.
The projects is a collaboration between three agencies – Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) and Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Starting progressively from May 4, 2017, prospective customers of United Overseas Bank (UOB), Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) with a registered profile on myinfo.gov.sg can apply for a new bank account without needing to submit supporting documentation.
This enables greater convenience and a faster transaction time, creating a seamless digital user experience. In addition, the banks benefit from higher productivity and lower compliance costs.
Currently, customers who want to open a bank account are required to submit copies of their identity, income and CPF documents for applications. With MyInfo, customers can pre-fill these Government-verified personal particulars into the necessary forms, and avoid the need to submit supporting documents.
MyInfo has been rolled out for SingPass users since May 2016 for popular government digital services such as balloting of the Housing Development Board’s Build-To-Order (BTO) flats. It will be available on most government digital services with SingPass two-factor authentication (2FA) by 2018.
“We want to explore how citizen-centric government digital services can be extended to better help industry and transform service-delivery to citizens," Jacqueline Poh, Chief Executive, GovTech. "We have seen good take-up of MyInfo, and hope that this public-private collaboration will provide citizens with even more benefits.”
“MAS is excited by the opportunities that national infrastructure platforms can bring to the financial industry, such as hassle-free online account opening and instant account activation in the near future," said Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS. "MAS would like to urge the industry to re-imagine their customer journey for instant gratification as they leverage platforms like MyInfo.”
MyInfo may be extended later this year to other popular transactions such as applications for credit cards and home loans. In addition, it could also be extended to other sectors with strong citizen touch points such as insurance.