For the Philippine financial services firms to further accelerate their digital transformation, a robust infrastructure coupled with strong security posture should be in place. In a media briefing, software firm VMWare said Filipinos have come to “appreciate the value of digital products and services” at the height of the lockdowns last year.

The VMware Digital Frontiers 3.0 Study found that 76% of Filipino respondents are open to contactless payments, which according to the company is “a measure of digital banking penetration.”

The figure is high but relatively low compared to other Southeast Asian (SEA) countries — Singapore (88%), Malaysia (87%), Indonesia (90%), and Thailand (85%) — included in the survey. However, more Filipinos are now engaging with financial services firms digitally, with more than half (55%) of respondents now preferring to engage with their banks via apps rather than doing in-person transactions.

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VMware Digital Frontiers 3.0 Study is a global multi-country study conducted in November and December 2020, which studied consumers’ behaviors, preferences, and attitudes toward digital services and experiences in 2020. It surveyed 1,000 consumers from Southeast Asia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

“To ensure successful industry transformation, it is critical to building a robust and trusted digital foundation that is able to deliver personalized, seamless, and secure experiences to Filipinos,” said Walter So, country manager, VMware Philippines. “Beyond accelerating innovations and driving competitive advantages for digital banks, harnessing frontier technologies such as the cloud, facial recognition, and 5G can also help reduce barriers that hinder financial access and close the financial inclusion gap in the Philippines.”

Digital services

The VMWare survey also saw consumer expectations as they continue to adopt digital services. They expect more response apps that give a faster speed of service (52%), ease-of-use across all devices (36%), and applications that deliver services simply and effectively (36%). Consumers are also embracing emerging technologies more, with 75% of respondents expressing trust in artificial intelligence and more than one-third (36%) willing to let an app help make their investment decisions over an individual that works for the bank.

In terms of apps, cmpanies should tighten their security posture because the VMWare survey also highlighted how Filipino consumers expect a high level of security and protection of consumer data (63%). About 83% of those surveyed consider security as the top priority when choosing a financial services provider.

VMWare said that while banks aim to deliver cutting-edge innovations, they should also build secure and privacy-focused digital experiences to win the trust of consumers in the Philippines.

VMWare also said that as companies go through their journey to digital transformation, the software firm will continue to handhold them every step of the way.

“Wherever they are in their journey of transformation — whether they are trying to get their employee workforce up and running or to meet a completely different kind of work environment, or whether businesses are looking at supporting their customers,” the company said.