This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 17, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), the country's largest lender by assets, is introducing several new services to its online banking platform, Maybank2u (M2u), as part of its plans to strengthen its online banking market share.

The new services are real-time current account opening as well as instant decisioning for credit cards, bill presentments on mobile, QuickTouch for Android devices and a transaction banking site in Bahasa Malaysia.

“The new services will enhance customer convenience, and in the case of account opening and card application, will significantly reduce the time customers normally spend at branches to have their details recorded and accounts processed,” Maybank said in a statement yesterday.

Maybank currently commands 64% of the Internet banking transaction volume and 76% of the mobile banking transaction volume in the country.

“For opening of accounts, potential customers will just have to key in their details via M2u and submit them online for straight through processing by the bank. They will receive a notification on their mobile phones and simply have to choose which Maybank branch to maintain their account.

“All they have to do then is to present themselves at the branch for customer due diligence verification before activation of their account,” said Maybank.

Similarly, applications for new cards, balance transfers and EzyPay Plus can be done online via M2u, and they will be processed instantly, it added.

Maybank head of community financial services for Malaysia Datuk Hamirullah Boorhan said the introduction of these new services on M2u are part of Maybank’s continuous commitment to add value to its online banking offerings.

“Online banking has become a trend for people from all walks of life and they are increasingly transacting over this channel. M2u currently records transactions to the value of RM174 billion a year, with the volume of transactions growing by about 30%,” he said.

Hamirullah said Maybank is planning to introduce more online services to further simplify banking and boost operational efficiency.

Among the new services are QuickTouch for Android to be launched in March.

“This new service allows customers even faster access to check their balances via the M2u app, with just a biometric fingerprint scan on their Android devices. We have seen almost 100% adoption of QuickTouch among our mobile banking customers who use Apple devices,” said Hamirullah.

M2u, which was Malaysia’s first Internet banking site when launched in 2000, is today available in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia.