PETALING JAYA: CIMB Bank has been named the Best Retail Bank in Malaysia in The Asian Banker’s Global Excellence in Retail Financial Services (RFS) Awards 2023 for its leadership in the consumer bank space.

The lender was backed by its digital priorities which caused it delivering superior customer experience resulting in better cost efficiencies and overall business performance.

The group consumer and digital banking of CIMB Group chief executive officer Effendy Shahul Hamid said the award reflected the bank’s focus on placing technology and digital enablement at the heart of its strategy to meet the evolving needs of its customers.

“We will continue to stay the course, innovating responsibly, placing security at the forefront, and through these levers, deliver greater value services to our customers,” he said.

The global excellence in RFS Awards is a rigorous, prestigious and transparent awards programme that celebrates institutional and individual leadership in retail financial services globally.

The award given to CIMB Bank was presented at the 22nd convention held by The Asian Banker in Hanoi, Vietnam recently.

Among CIMB’s achievements were its focus on CASA or current account, saving account acquisition as well as its CIMB OctoSavers Account-i offering with fully digital electronic Know-Your-Customer account opening functionality.

The digital proposition has been well-received, as total deposits in the CIMB OctoSavers Account-i grew by 94% year-on-year as at end-2022 due to the convenience of its end-to-end online onboarding process.

In 2022, the Bank also introduced CIMB e-Zi Tunai, the first personal loan product for microfinancing in Malaysia with a fully digital customer journey.

CIMB e-Zi Tunai is distributed via GOpinjam, an inclusive digital personal loan proposition available through the Touch ‘n Go eWallet.

CIMB has one of the most extensive retail branch networks in Asean with 604 branches and around 33,000 employees as at Dec 31, 2022.