Just a decade ago, we are still running to bank branches and ATMs to complete our daily finance activities such as cheque deposit and fund transfer. Today, 73.1% of Malaysians are using internet banking and this prompted the banks to go one step further by introducing mobile banking apps.
CompareHero.my 2017 Mobile Banking Apps Awards
To date, 11 banks in Malaysia have their own mobile banking apps for its customers and they continue to bring new features and improvements in order to impress users like you and me. But just how happy are you with the mobile banking app you are using now? Features, layout, safety concerns and accessibility are important for a mobile banking app to serve a customer.
CompareHero.my has conducted its first Mobile Banking Apps Awards in Malaysia. Known as the CompareHero.my 2017 Mobile Banking Apps Awards, today we are happy to announce the winners.
CompareHero.my has reviewed all 11 mobile banking apps in Malaysia for the CompareHero.my 2017 Mobile Banking Apps Awards.
Read our review on each bank’s app here:
- Citibank MY
- Maybank
- CIMB Clicks
- Standard Chartered Mobile Banking (Malaysia)
- Hong Leong Connect
- RHBNow
- HSBC Mobile Banking
- AmOnline
- PB engage
- Bank Islam i-Info
Overall OCBC Mobile Banking App Review
Overall Position: 9 / 11
Overall Score: 2.8 / 5
| Score | |||||
| Bank Apps | Layout | Functionality | Security | User-Friendliness | Final Ranking |
| Citibank MY | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Maybank | 4 | 3.8 | 4 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| CIMB Clicks | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4 | 2.95 | 3.5 |
| Standard Chartered Mobile Banking (Malaysia) | 2.9 | 3 | 4 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
| Hong Leong Connect | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4 | 2.75 | 3.4 |
| RHBNow | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3 | 3.7 | 3 |
| Am Online | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3 | 2.7 | 3 |
| HSBC Mobile Banking | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3 | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| OCBC Malaysia Mobile Banking | 2.3 | 2.5 | 3 | 3.4 | 2.8 |
| PB Engage | 2 | 2.6 | 3 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
| Bank Islam i-Info | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1 | 3 | 1.9 |
Check out the summary below to know more about the app, read user reviews and our thoughts.
App Screenshots:
Overview of features:
- A comprehensive view of your deposit, credit card, loans and investment accounts. Check if your salary has been credited on payday or if your cheque has cleared.
- Send money to anyone in Malaysia.
- Pay your ASTRO, Maxis, Digi, Celcom or TNB bills. Set recurring payment to keep track of your bill payments and to avoid late payment penalties.
- Fund the Savings Goals you have created on OCBC Online Banking.
- MONEY IN$IGHTS: An easier way to track and manage your money. Your spending is categorized automatically so you know how much you’ve spent over time by month or category.
- Locate OCBC branches.
CompareHero.my Review on OCBC Mobile Banking App
1. Layout/Design (Score: 2.3/5)
- Simple layout but may need an update for better user interface. Current one seems outdated. Perhaps add more color too
2. Functionality (Score: 2.6/5)
- Money Insights is a good feature to help track and manage finances
- Should introduce more exclusive functions such as privileges, cashless withdrawal or mobile payment
3. Security (Score: 3/5)
- Does not provide biometric fingerprint log-in for all users
- Lack educational efforts to help customers in fraud or technical issues
4. User-Experience (Score: 3.4/5)
- Inconsistent performance issue
- Login issue is bad
User Reviews on OCBC Mobile Banking App
Sham Anuar ★
“I thougth my phone had a problem but turn out it is your part. Waited OTP to check my bank balance but I ended up going to the ATM to check. Notwithstanding of your branches are scarce in Malaysia. Your incompetence do not amuse me. Not at all”
Desmond Chan ★
“Takes forever to load the app and the OTP is often delayed. Needs massive improvement. Learn from Maybank2u maybe?”
Tengku Haeriz ★
“The app freezes when I try to make a transfer, fix this quick as this has been going on for too long. What is the point of the app without easy access?”
Winson Loh ★★★★
“Good as it's quite handy to hold a bank in your hand”
OCBC Mobile Banking App Overall Remarks:
The app may needs an update to its user interface and new features to be competitive compared to the top performing mobile banking apps such as Maybank and Citibank. We love the feature of Money Insights, which is a first of its own among the local mobile banking apps. Hopefully, OCBC Malaysia can maintain this feature after an update and perhaps enhance it with additional functions such as credit card management.
We also hope the developer can look into fixing the bugs issue for users to login safely and consistently.
Scoring Methodology
These apps were scored based on:
- CompareHero.my aesthetical experts (for layout, functionality and security)
- Objective list of what constitutes a 1,2,3,4 and 5 rating (for layout, functionality and security)
- Writer’s evaluation (for layout, functionality and security)
- Apple and Android reviews (for user experience)
1. Layout and Design
A higher score of 4-5 meant the app had a simple yet effective design that added to its user’s experience. The app’s layout should also captivates user’s attention while not being too confusing at the same time.
A score of 3 is given to the apps that have adequate layout design. However, there are still some rooms for improvement such as updates for the latest user interface (UI) and perhaps more exciting colors or graphics.
Apps that received a score of 1-2 meant that the layout was not updated, or it was not on par with the other apps you see in store. Most of them required some updating in terms of color choice, fonts, menu layout and also visibility.
2. Functionality
A higher score of 4-5 was given to mobile banking apps that have more than 8 features and were one step ahead of the rest, such as exclusive promotions, in store payment, manage global accounts and card-less withdrawal at ATM machines.
A moderate score of 3 was given to mobile banking apps that have more than 5 features including balance check, fund transfer, bill payment, prepaid reload and credit card management.
A lower score of 1-2 was given to mobile banking apps that provided (or failed to provide) basic or average financing functions as mentioned above.
3. Security
We tested the security features based on a consumer’s perspective to determine the level of safety for a user while using the app.
We graded the apps based on:
- Security layers
- Biometric login availability
- Easiness to reset password and username
- Escalation of fraud or theft via the app
A high score of 4-5 was given to the apps that have incorporated biometric login system, provide adequate security action plans, and also fast responsiveness to resolve customers’ issue in fraud or identity theft.
A moderate score of 3 was given to the apps that have adequate security system and biometric login system. However, it may needs to up its game in terms of prevention and educational efforts.
A low score of 1-2 was given to those that do not have login system or insufficient security steps to ensure the safe usage of the apps by the users.
4. User-Friendliness
A high score of 3-5 was given to those that had earned high favourability from the users based on the apps’ transition, responsiveness, practicality and also banks’ efforts to resolve users’ issues.
A low score of 1-2 was given to the apps that did not meet the average users’ demand and was filled with technological bugs like malfunctions, errors, and bad transitions.
So far, we noticed that almost half of the banks have at least updated or replaced their mobile banking apps to a newer one in the past six months, with better features and functions for the consumers.
About OCBC Malaysia
OCBC Bank is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest of which was founded in 1912. OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.
Find out the financial products offered by OCBC Malaysia here:
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