The Chinese government has proposed establishing a joint venture with local technology companies to oversee the collection of data from Chinese consumers.

The inaugural BankQuality™ Consumer Survey and Rankings in the Middle East interviewed 3,000 customers in three key markets in the region on their engagement, experience and satisfaction with their main retail banks.

Chinese credit card industry exploded over the past two years, with growth rates being recorded in the number of credit cards issued and outstanding credit card debt, as well as the income from credit card business.

Chatbots are another example of relatively low-cost advancements in artificial intelligence adoption within the banking industry. These computer programmes are designed to conduct live chats to resolve common queries and carry out specific tasks; and they are proving to be popular among customers.

The contribution of consumer finance to the overall retail loans in Asia Pacific in 2015 ranged from 2% to 56%. Its share to retail loans has increased in markets like Indonesia but has declined in Hong Kong and Thailand. The growth of consumer finance per country also varied, slowing down in Taiwan and growing faster in the Philippines.

Hong Kong’s economy remains sound but the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is tamping down property loans and issuance of long-term personal loans. With the stricter regulations, the challenge for Hong Kong banks is not asset quality but pricing.

Consumers chose Indonesia’s Bank Central Asia as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, and DBS Singapore as Most Selected Main Bank in APAC in the 2023 BankQuality Survey

Indonesia’s Bank Central Asia, DBS Singapore, South Korea’s Toss Bank, and China’s Alipay were voted the Most Recommended Retail Bank, Most Selected Main Bank, Most Recommended Digital-only Bank and Most Recommended Platform, respectively, in the 2023 BankQuality™ Consumer Survey

Indonesians voted BCA as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, followed by blu as the Best Digital-only Bank and Dana as the Most Recommended Platform in the 2023 BankQuality™ Consumer Survey

UnionBank topped the 2023 BankQuality™ Survey in the Philippines as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, achieving a score of 67%, tying with Metrobank but with varying margins across key categories

Consumers in India rated ICICI as the Most Recommended Retail Bank in the 2023 BankQuality™ Survey with a score of 69%, while Paytm scored 64% and rated as the Most Recommended Digital-Only Bank

The combined revenue of the top 100 global digital-only banks increased by 16% to reach some $66 billion, with China’s WeBank, Ally Bank from the US, and the retail arm of ING Group in the lead in 2023