PH bank clients ready to embrace artificial intelligence but security worries persist

Philippine consumers are more willing to embrace artificial intelligence-based bank services compared to many of their Asia-Pacific neighbors, and are willing to share their personal data with other firms if their privacy and security concerns can be addressed.

This was the finding of a study conducted by international information technology firm Unisys Corp. that explored how consumers feel about banks using artificial intelligence or AI to assess eligibility for credit cards and home loans, as well as sentiment toward banks sharing data with non-bank entities to offer new services.
The study covered 1,000 banking clients in the Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan aged 18 and above.
Of the five countries surveyed, Philippine bank customers are the most frustrated by long bank queues, cited by 53 percent of Filipinos as the most annoying thing about their bank. Conversely, Filipinos are the least annoyed by having to repeat themselves to different bank representatives or from one channel—phone, internet or branch—to another.

The proportion of Filipinos annoyed by their credit cards being frozen or cancelled due to a suspected fraudulent transaction has fallen by two-thirds from 9 percent to just 3 percent.

“With bank queues remaining the top annoyance for Filipino bank customers, there is a huge opportunity for Philippine banks to move more customer interactions to digital channels, including mobile,” Unisys Asia-Pacific vice president for financial services Richard Parker said in a briefing. “In addition to relieving pressure on the branches, artificial intelligence and machine learning can help banks make quick decisions and capture intelligence about customers to offer them more personalized and relevant services.”

The survey findings suggest that Filipinos are very willing to embrace tech innovations to enable digital bank services. Some 52 percent of Filipinos are comfortable with their bank using software and algorithms to assess online credit card applications. When applying for home loan, this level of comfort falls to 41 percent, with 50 percent not comfortable. “Across all countries surveyed, consumers are more comfortable with online assessment for a credit card than a home loan,” he said.