The bank is in a celebratory mood over its mobile private banking system, as it plans to extend it to the Hong Kong booking centre.

Credit Suisse says the number of clients using its digital private banking platform has risen ten-fold since its global launch took place in Singapore exactly a year ago.

Meanwhile, it is rolling the platform out to the Hong Kong booking centre and adding new features, functionalities, language capabilities and access via android devices.   

The number of users has doubled in the last three months since access has been extended to the iPhone, the bank said.

Credit Suisse, reviewing progress to date in a report, said private banking clients have also been spending more time on the digital channel. On average, they spend around 15 minutes per login session, logging in on average six times a month, with the most active user logging in more than five times a day.   

In terms of client usage preferences, while clients tend to conduct their digital banking activities on weekdays, they are also using it on weekends. Client usage rates on average peaked at 10am and 10pm Singapore time. In terms of their trading activities, the highest total value of trades were made on the US stock exchanges, followed by Japanese and German stock exchanges, it said.

The launch and roll-out by the bank of the platform comes as private banks, facing growing regulatory and other cost pressures, are looking to demonstrate added value to increasingly tech-savvy clients. Mobile tech can also, its advocates say, act as a “force multiplier” for relationship managers, enabling them to reach more people and handle relationships over long distances.

In other examples, Citi Private Bank launched its In View platform in 2014; UBS’s wealth management arms in Asia and other regions have their mobile apps. DBS, the Singapore-headquartered banking group, makes a point that its digital strategy is a core part of its overall business philosophy. Julius Baer, the Swiss bank that calls Asia its second home market, has its e-banking platform. It was seen as significant that Credit Suisse chose to start the global launch of its private banking platform in Singapore, highlighting how the Asian jurisdiction has pushed itself forward as a financial technology hub.

As far as Credit Suisse is concerned, over the past 12 months, it has made the digital platform available across several devices including the iPhone and web browsers, in addition to the original iPad version. It has added features such as a portfolio risk analyser, enabling users to track risk exposures and decide if they need to cut or increase them.

Another feature is that of the alert, to keep clients updated on developments, and biometrics, so that iPhone users can log in using the TouchID feature instead of a login security code. Trading functions have been added, such as the ability to trade foreign exchange forwards, in addition to trading capabilities for stocks, exchange traded funds, spot exchange, and real estate investment trusts.

The digital platform has also been extended to clients in around 100 countries globally who have accounts and relationship managers based in Singapore, providing them access to a range of features and information based on their country of domicile.  

Young Jin Yee, Credit Suisse’s market group head for Singapore, private banking, said: “Increasing client adoption of the digital platform is gradually transforming the way our relationship managers interact with, curate content for and advise our clients.”