Citi named Best Digital Bank in Asia Pacific by Global Finance Magazine

• Bank picks up Best Consumer and Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Bank

Citi was named Best Consumer and Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Bank in Asia Pacific by the editors of Global Finance Magazine for 2018 at their annual awards dinner in London on 1 November. The bank was also named the World’s Best Digital Bank.

The regional awards add to the more than 30 awards in Global Finance Magazine’s 2018 World’s Best Digital Bank Awards announced earlier in the year, reaffirming the bank’s commitment to innovation and excellence in digital banking across its corporate/institutional and consumer banking business.

In the magazine’s World’s Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Bank Awards, Citi was named Best Digital Bank in 16 markets—Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The bank also won five sub-category awards, including Best Online Cash Management, Best Online Treasury Services, Best in Mobile Banking, Best Mobile Banking App and Most Innovative Digital Bank.

Citi was the first global transaction bank to launch Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for institutional clients in 2017. Nearly 20 APIs across a wide range of functionalities have been implemented. 

The bank also has the largest footprint in Virtual Cards in Asia across 11 markets, bringing automation and efficiency to supplier payments for clients. MobilePass—Citi’s app that generates dynamic passwords for digital access to accounts by corporate users—is now available across 14 markets in the region.

“Our strategy is to accelerate simplification using technology and innovation and introducing disruptive solutions across our core product pillars and making strategic investments to support our clients. We continue to leverage local market payment infrastructure developments which are also tightly integrated into our global network and by using newer technologies, we are helping our clients get ahead of the digital curve,” said Rajesh Mehta, Citi’s Asia Pacific Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS).

In the Consumer Digital Bank Awards, Citi was named Best Digital Bank in Australia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and Bahrain. Citi’s Consumer Banking business in Poland—Citi Handlowy—was also named Best Digital Bank.

The Asia Pacific Consumer Banking franchise is responsible for 17 out of Citi’s 19 Consumer Banking markets worldwide. The business covers 12 markets in Asia Pacific and five markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

In sub-category awards, Citi was recognised for Best in Mobile Banking and Best Information Security and Fraud Management in Asia Pacific.

Now in its 19th year, this is the first time that Global Finance’s World’s Digital Banks Awards program selected country winners in the Middle East across a broad range of subcategories including Best Mobile Banking App and Most Innovative Digital Bank.

In Bahrain, Citi won four sub-category awards including Best Online Deposit, Credit and Investment Product Offerings; Best in Mobile Banking; Best Information Security and Fraud Management and Most Innovative Digital Bank.

Citi was also named Best in Mobile Banking and recognised for Best Information Security and Fraud Management in the UAE.

In the last year the Asia Pacific Consumer Banking franchise added more than one million new mobile clients. Mobile is now the most popular digital channel for Citi’s clients, with more than one in three digitally active clients choosing mobile. 

“Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) Sri Lanka is committed to leading the way in offering the industry’s most comprehensive range of digitally enabled treasury, trade and liquidity management solutions. This award reaffirms our commitment to innovation and excellence as well as Citi’s leadership within the digital banking landscape in Sri Lanka”, said Dilshan Seneviratne – Head, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi Sri Lanka.

The past year also saw a number of digital global-firsts for Citi launched out of the region. The bank’s chatbot was launched in Singapore early this year while video banking for wealth management was introduced to customers in Asia in the last year.