In line with its digital innovation initiative, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) intends to shift at least half of its existing clients into the digital platform by end of this year.

This was learned from BPI chief operating officer Ramon Jocson as he noted on their plans to further involve clients in their digitalization plans.

“When they open accounts, they immediately go electronic. The challenge for us is for those who have accounts with us, ATM accounts that have not gotten to the branches yet to apply for an online account,” Jocson told reporters during the bank’s launch of its revamped mobile app.

“So the adoption is quite fast once they look at the benefits, but it’s really (about) trying to reach out to them, to involve them. So our target right now is to get to at least 50 percent by the end of the year.”

According to him, of the bank’s current 8.5 million accounts, 1.8 million were still using passbooks, attributing to them as cynical to anything electronic.

“People who have passbooks, they don’t even have ATM. Usually they’re of the older generation and they’re not used to trusting anything that’s electronic and we have to contend with that,” Jocson explained.

Earlier, BPI president and CEO Cezar Consing said that about a quarter of their clients have adopted their digital initiatives, both online and mobile.

In terms of investments on technology, the BPI executive said that they are allotting an ample amount for such as they try to balance their spending mix on traditional and digital efforts.

“It’s a part of our whole IT (information technology) budget. I can’t give you the figures (but) I can tell you, regional banks, their spending for such is somewhere around 7.5 to 8 percent of their total revenue. Ours is the same,” Jocson said.