The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) on Friday shared how its customers benefit from the bank’s retail digital platforms and how their accounts are protected from cyber scammers.

Speaking before members of the media, bloggers, and influencers in the bank’s maiden #BPITechTalk, two BPI executives shared the beginnings, milestones, and features of BPI Online and Mobile, as well as how the bank’s cybersecurity efforts make the platforms secure.

The presentation “A Smart and Easy Digital Experience” highlighted the history and milestones of BPI Online and BPI Mobile, the platforms’ smart and convenient features, and top uses.

“BPI’s Digital Banking is best in its class,” Fitzgerald Chee, BPI Consumer Platforms Business Lead, said. “Its intuitive features are built for convenience, ease and security. Customer experience is at the forefront as BPI continues to develop Digital Banking functionalities which make both the online and mobile banking app highly responsive to customers’ needs.”

Reinforcing its position as the digital leader in banking in the Philippines, BPI continues to invest heavily in technology, including cybersecurity, to ensure that the bank can provide safe, convenient, and secure digital financial services,

In his presentation, “Cybersecurity Made Simple,” Jonathan John Paz, BPI Enterprise Information Security Officer and Data Protection Officer, gave a glimpse of how technologically secure BPI Online and Mobile are and how the platforms are empowering its users to manage their online security.

“We follow a secure mobile app development regime to build a robust BPI Mobile app,” Paz said. “We keep abreast of the developments in the digitalization front and the evolving threat landscape. We continue to invest heavily in technology, especially in cybersecurity, to ensure we are able to deliver superior user experience, securely.” 

He shared an overview of the industry and digitalization trends, including drivers for a mobile-first strategy, threats to mobile banking, and the threat forecast for 2022.

#BPITechTalk is a one-hour, monthly media roundtable series where updates on the bank’s tech initiatives and capabilities are presented by top BPI executives. It aims to provide a holistic view of the bank’s digitalization journey.

BPI has long been a leader in digitalization in the Philippines. It set the standard in online banking with BPI Express Online and brought over banking services on desktops to smartphones. It introduced the Mobile Wallet in 2012 for the country’s first bank-initiated contactless payment system.

It embarked on a digital transformation in 2016 through BPI Digital 1.0, where it established a technology foundation for digital aspirations. It set up a 24/7 cyber security operations center, upgraded core banking systems, and rebuilt digital infrastructure, including delayering of architecture.Accelerated by the pandemic, BPI clients’ digital propensity is reflected in the increase in the users of the bank’s digital channels. Of more than 9 million clients as of June 2022, 5.2 million were enrolled in digital platforms. Of those, 3.5 million were active clients, up from 3.2 million by end of 2021, which in turn was 20% more than the year before.

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