Melissa Henson, Vice President for eBusiness at Citibank N.A. told participants of BancNet’s e-banking Forum recently that there are now 25 million Filipinos, or 1 out of every 4, who are on the Internet. This places the Philippines at number 16 in the world in terms of the number of Internet users.
Citibank vice president Melissa Henson at BancNet’s 20th Anniversary e-Banking Forum
“There has been a rapid growth in the number of Internet users in the Philippines in the last 2 years because the availability of wireless broadband technology has made the Internet more accessible.” she shared during her talk on “Leveraging Technology to Engage the Customer.”
Ms. Henson was one of the speakers at the forum organized by BancNet, the country’s largest electronic banking consortium, at the Dusit Hotel in Makati City. Focusing on the theme “Enhancing Cross-Channel Customer Experience”, the forum was attended by executives of BancNet member banks and industry partners.
Citing data from a Yahoo-Nielsen survey in February 2010 and a 2009 Synovate study, Ms. Henson added that Filipinos access the Internet about 28 times a month on the average and spend an average of 38 hours a month on the Internet while at home. Moreover, a significant 5% of Filipino Internet users now surf the web through their mobile phones or personal digital assistants.
She stressed that new technology has been very empowering for bank customers as it has enabled them to access their bank accounts anytime and anywhere they may be through the Internet and their mobile phones. Thus, Citibank, a BancNet member, always tries to find ways to leverage technology to serve its customers in the digital space and has been recognized by various award-giving bodies in the process.
Other speakers at the forum were Mr. Brett King, author of the book “Bank 2.0: The Future of Banking” and Mr. Rick Woodham, head of the Business Solutions Group for ASEAN at Fidelity Information Services (FIS).
