The first official update of Asian Private Banker’s AppMap – the region’s most comprehensive roundup of front-office digi tools deployed by the region’s wealth managers – reveals that banks remain committed to developing and rolling out mobile apps for clients and relationship managers, with ‘communication’ and ‘content’ emerging as key themes.

Communication: Messaging systems to curtail WhatsApp, WeChat
To create an official channel for clients and their relationship managers (RMs) to communicate, 13 banks in Asia have thus far implemented messaging functions on their mobile/tablet apps. Even so, COOs say that clients still prefer to use unsanctioned channels including Whatsapp and Wechat, creating compliance headaches. RMs, too, are using these ubiquitous platforms and their broadcast functions to circulate news and information.

Aiming to curb these practices, individual banks are pushing out their own chat platforms en masse. For example, BNP Paribas Wealth Management developed a complete app dedicated to client/RM communications, which has been progressively rolled out in Asian markets since August. Clients are able to hold conferences with their advisors in a recorded environment, providing RMs with a safely disseminate advice to their clients and for clients to place trade orders.

Content: Digital distribution of information remains strong
According to a 2017 survey conducted by Asian Private Banker, Asia-based COOs reported that 75% of bank apps already offered clients access to research and market reports. Investor and bankers’ predilection for digitally-distributed research and news is reflected in the fact that 12 private banks have developed 19 apps with the capability to distribute information directly to clients. Many of these apps provide information specific to a client’s portfolio holdings. Moreover, 3Q17 data from research portal, Statista, shows that two-thirds of internet traffic in Asia came from a mobile device.

Mobile launches and updates to continue
And there’s more to come in 2018. Deutsche Bank Wealth Management’s APAC head of technology, Sandipan Ray, told Asian Private Banker that the German lender has committed to “investing EUR 65 million to upgrade its digital platform aiming to improve systems, processes and clients/RMs’ experiences.”

Meanwhile, Indosuez Wealth Management has a “new app [which] will be launched over the course of the year”. Pictet Wealth Management is also working on an advisory extension for its client app “starting this year”.

Keep an eye out as we track the continued development of private banking mobile/tablet applications – and if you have something to add, please reach out to us as [email protected].