Citi unveils digital onboarding for APAC institutional clients

Clients can open accounts in as quickly as two days.

Citi has introduced a digitised onboarding process, CitiDirect BE® Digital Onboarding, that enables institutional clients to complete KYC requirements and open accounts in as quickly as two days.

The portal integrates the use of electronic signatures and existing data assets. Once in the portal, relevant data from a client’s parent entity or existing data on the client is pre-populated. Using electronic signatures and the portal’s digital document exchange feature, clients can proceed to submit relevant documents and instructions electronically to complete their onboarding request.

The solution is already live in Singapore and Hong Kong. CitiDirect BE® Digital Onboarding was first launched in the U.S. followed by six markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa in January 2019 and the solution will continue to be rolled out in additional markets.

The digital onboarding solution replaces a mostly manual legacy paper-driven and courier-based documentation process which is part of a global documentation rationalisation program that has reduced over 70% of service agreements and forms.

“As our clients manage their businesses through disruption, the need for quicker servicing is increasingly crucial. Recognising this client need, we began by rethinking and then redesigning the client onboarding journey to introduce an optimal solution,” Asia Pacific Head of Citi’s Treasury & Trade Solutions business Rajesh Mehta said in a statement.