The BPI app is centred on customer obsession and is aligned with the vision of financial inclusion,  creating a better Philippines one community at a time.

At the recent Asian Technology Excellence Awards, major banking company Bank of the Philippine  Islands (BPI) brought home the Philippines Technology Excellence Award 2024 in the Digital – Financial  Services category for the complete technology and digital experience revamp of its retail mobile banking app in 2023. 

Centred around its core value of customer obsession, the development of the new app takes a two-pronged approach: technology which leverages the out-of-the-box features of banking firm BackBase and integrates it with leading tech solutions such as Personetics and Jumio, and a continuous development of new, customer-driven features, delivering a personalised and dynamic banking experience. 

The effective utilisation of this technology has slashed release cycles by 25%, accelerating the ability to introduce new features and enhancements. This development has made it easier for the bank to respond to opportunities for both customer experience improvement and business-driven innovation. 

BPI is the first banking app in the country to feature an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tracking and insights capability, called Track and Plan. It employs machine learning to provide insights into users’ spending habits and saving activities, offering them advice to protect and grow their funds through innovative financial transactions available on the app, helping millions of Filipinos achieve financial independence. 

This new function has become key to the company’s “phygital” approach to make banking more accessible to Filipinos through a combination of physical branches and digital channels and platforms.  This strategy scales up the advisory role of the bank, expanding financial advice from branch-based engagement to all users of the app. 

Within the app, it has also implemented features such as person-to-merchant payments, credit card instalment plans, deposit and investment products, and mobile check deposits, all of which have provided customers with additional flexibility and convenience. 

Best-in-industry account opening via the BPI app has also become a key development in the digital’s contribution to client count. Since new clients can open an account within five minutes using just one valid  ID, digital account opening has grown by 152% by the end of 2023. 

Moreover, the number of users of the new BPI app has grown with digital customers up 50% year-on-year and 7.5 times the 2019 count. 

To also ensure the future readiness of the BPI app, the bank has embraced strategic partnerships with tech solutions and has boldly reimagined its web-mobile strategy. “Digitalisation of banking transactions has since had significant contributions to revenue, customer count, and app usage. The new technology has also allowed the bank to be agile and to scale in order to meet the demands of customers and address business opportunities,” says Fitzgerald Chee, Head of Consumer Platforms of BPI.

The Asian Technology Excellence Awards, now in its fourth year, celebrates top technological innovators and solutions that are redefining industries and leading the charge in digital transformation.

The Asian Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2025 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company’s outstanding retail initiatives, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].