June 13, 2024

Going Big in Japan

Sometimes, people are lucky enough to be part of something huge and truly disruptive. This is how I feel right now as the Account Manager for Personetics in Japan, the global leader in financial data-driven personalization and customer engagement. The digital transformation of the Japanese banking industry is gaining traction, and as it progresses, banks need to change the way that they serve and engage with their customers. I am excited and honored to be part of our efforts in this key market, helping to boost banks’ business impact, improve customers’ financial wellness and strengthen the relationships between the two.

Japan’s Unique Banking Challenges  

1. Low interest rates 

Japan’s banking experience is unique. After eight years of negative interest rates, the Bank of Japan raised short-term interest rates in March 2024 to a 0.0-0.1% range. The impact of the negative interest rates meant that Japanese consumers had little or no incentive to invest their savings in banks. This not only cut off a major source of revenue for the banks but also prevented them from serving in the traditional role as trusted financial advisor to their customers. In fact, much of the Japanese banking industry’s focus since 2000, has been on mortgage and property lending.  

2. Shift to digital

The Japanese banking industry has been struggling with its transition to digital banking, which has been slow. Although the country has been a largely cash-based society, digital payment usage, in particular credit cards, is steadily rising. The transactional data that results from digital payments provides banks with invaluable information on their customers’ spending habits and financial priorities, enabling a vastly improved customer understanding. The banks could be leveraging this data to provide customers with personalized advice and services that offer real value – a move that would help them better position themselves as trusted partners and advisors who are wholly committed to their customers’ financial wellness.  

Another reason for the financial institutions’ slow adoption of digital banking is the third party, legacy computing systems that Japanese banks are tied into. These systems require significant investment for even the smallest change. Financial institutions throughout Japan are very aware that they need to move to updated, scalable, future-proof platforms that meet consumers’ demands for ‘anytime, anywhere’ access to their own data.  

3. Low conversion rate  

One of the biggest challenges facing banks and financial institutions in the digital banking industry is how to effectively sell to their customers and differentiate themselves from the competition. The average sales conversion rate for banks is between 2-3%, which is significantly lower than other service industries. Personetics boosts this rate by up to X6, enabling banks to strengthen their customer relationships, enhance their customers’ financial wellness, and help them make smarter decisions.  

Changing the Way Banks Engage With Their Customers  

Personetics was founded on a clear vision – to create a world where everyone makes smart financial decisions. Based on an innovative platform that analyzes each individual’s transactional data, Personetics enables banks to offer customers truly personalized financial advice and services, while growing their business impact.  

Register to the webinar “Beyond PFM: The Rise of Impactful PFE (Personal Financial Engagement).” 

Field-proven Success Around the World 

Personetics partners with many of the leading financial institutions in APAC. Among its APAC customers are UOB (SE Asia), BPI (Philippines), Techcombank (Vietnam), Hyundai Card (Korea), iBank (Japan), as well as the top banks in North America and Europe 

iBank 

Widely known as Neobank in Japan, iBank prides itself on leading digital innovation in Japan. A subsidiary of Fukuoka Financial Group (FFG), one of Japan’s largest regional banks, iBank’s mission is to enhance customers’ daily lives with digital banking services.  iBank partnered with Personetics to help its Japan-based regional partners offer advanced hyper-personalization capabilities and increase customer engagement. 

United Overseas Bank (UOB) 

UOB’s aim is to build the world’s most engaging digital bank in SE Asia. One of Personetics’ first APAC-based partners, UOB’s initial aims were to significantly grow both its customer engagement levels and its conversion rates. With Personetics solutions deployed at over 30 branches in 19 countries, UOB has made significant steps towards its stated aim of providing customers with a hyper-personalized experience.

Read the blog ‘Disrupting ourselves’: How Personetics & UOB partner in Asia  

Techcombank 

Vietnam’s  Techombank joined forces with Personetics in mid-2023. Following on from the cost-of-living crisis, the bank set out to help its more than 11 million customers achieve overall financial wellness and give them the confidence to better manage their money. After the initial three-week pilot scheme, Techcombank customers’ savings balances increased by 9% and customers logged into the banking app 550% more than previously. 

Win-win for the Future 

As the shift to digital banking continues to gain momentum, the need for financial data-driven personalization will keep growing. Based on our years of experience as market leaders in this field, we know that the intelligence that Personetics delivers is a game-changer for customers as well as for banks. Customers love the ease with which they can achieve better financial wellness and deeply appreciate the added value that these solutions give them, while banks are delighted to drive revenue and business impact while greatly improving customer engagement and satisfaction.   

For more information on how Personetics can help you boost your digital conversion rate (CTR) by up to X6 and increase the overall lifetime value of your customers, please contact us.