Commercial Bank Bangladesh redefines online banking with omni-channel ‘CBC Digital’

Commercial Bank Bangladesh, Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s largest overseas operation, has transformed the online banking experience it offers customers with the launch of ‘CBC Digital’ – the Bank’s single omni-channel online banking platform.

Akin to ‘ComBank Digital’ implemented in Sri Lanka in 2020, ‘CBC Digital’ represents a synergy of the Bank’s web and mobile applications to offer a range of digital banking services from basic account inquiries, payments and transfers, bill payment options for business users, multiple payments options via file uploads, group payments, and other functionalities.

‘CBC Digital’ is operable as a web application and as a mobile application with native apps compatible with iOS, Android, and Huawei mobile devices, and complies with international standards and best practices adopted to provide utmost user security, the Bank said.

The Bank said it will migrate its existing online users to the new platform. Among other advantages, customers can self-register on the app, settle utility bills and Commercial Bank credit card balances, transfer funds between the Bank and other bank accounts and open fixed deposits and redeem them, all without any paperwork, which will also contribute towards a greener environment.

Commenting on the launch of this platform, Commercial Bank Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer S Renganathan said: “This is yet another milestone in Commercial Bank’s digital transformation. It enables our customers in Bangladesh to seamlessly access our products and services, in most cases, without the assistance of a bank agent. This user-friendly platform was launched to simplify online banking, improve user convenience and enable customers to manage their finances swiftly and securely, even on the go. With its host of customisable options, we envision that ‘CBC Digital’ will provide a new digital banking experience.”

‘CBC Digital’ will especially improve card-related functions, including cash advances, bill settlement, and bill payments. Users can also request for cash margin loans and overdrafts, download a copy of their account statements in PDF form, personalise and rename accounts, manage functions such as beneficiary registration and template creation, set transaction limits via the platform and benefit from its enhanced alert module by customising login and transaction alerts.

Commercial Bank currently has banking operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and a subsidiary in the Maldives, and said it aims to provide a single digital platform to customers across markets, giving them a unified digital banking experience.

A leader in tech-based products and services, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon was recognised as the Best Digital Bank in Sri Lanka by the Global Economics Magazine of the UK in 2021, won the award for the ‘Best Digital Transformation in Banking’ from the Business Tabloid Magazine of the UK and was presented the ‘Banking and Financial Services’ Category Award by the Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM) for its case study on robotic process automation (RPA). ‘ComBank Digital’ is also among the top five apps in the iOS rating list.

Commercial Bank entered Bangladesh in July 2003 with the acquisition of the Bangladesh operations of Credit Agricole Indosuez (CAI), its first ever acquisition of a banking operation. The French multi-national bank operated two branches and two booths in Bangladesh at that time. Over the 19 years that followed, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon Bangladesh operation has established itself above other regional banks operating in the country with 11 branches, six SME Centres and two Offshore Banking Units.

Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 11 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 938 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector.