OCBC Bank's efforts to add innovation and convenience across its customer banking channels have won it the Best Multi-Channel Capability Award in the inaugural The Asian Banker IT Implementation Awards 2006.

The awards programme recognises best practices among Asia-Pacific banks that emerge from the use of technology, resulting in a significant difference to the bank's functional ability. How these practices can affect the industry landscape is also taken into consideration in the selection process.

OCBC head of delivery, Patrick Chew, described the bank's strategy to stand out in a competitive industry by using IT across banking channels - ATMs, Internet banking and mobile banking - to make the process more convenient for customers.

'A few years ago . . . we looked at the different channels and found that customers look at the bank as one, rather than separate beings such as ATMs or branches, and they expect a certain level of service, so there has to be interdependency across the channels. While it sounds easy, it's hard to execute,' Mr Chew said.

But OCBC's efforts have paid off - the bank was the sole winner in the category it competed in. OCBC's mission to advance technologically has been gathering pace since 2001. In 2004, the bank integrated its customer relationship management with its ATMs. This move allowed OCBC to deliver customised marketing messages and a more personalised experience for its customers through its ATM channel - a move that resulted in customers' transaction time reduced by 75 per cent. Concurrently, OCBC revamped its Internet banking, giving it a new user interface and installing greater security enhancements - it was the first to offer three options for two-factor authentication.

And in October 2005, the bank was the first in South-east Asia to launch an interactive mobile banking portal. It was also the first to offer a mobile bank portal with interactive and secured mobile services across all three mobile networks in Singapore.

Looking ahead, OCBC seems set on maintaining its trailblazing reputation. This month, the bank will launch secured mobile banking on the Microsoft Windows platform - a boon for PDA users.

Mr Chew also said that for the ATM channel, work is in progress to extend and enhance its features to 'a level never seen before' and that customers can expect more sophisticated ATM machines and services in the near future.

This article first appeared in BT on March 26, 2007