BPI calls on mobile users to move to new app

Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is calling on close to six million of its mobile banking users to move to its new application, as the earlier version is set to be phased out by the end of the year.
 
Formally launched in Makati City on Wednesday, the new BPI application is said to have a refreshed technology stack, which will allow the lender to make faster drops and have a better ability to release new features into it.
 
The new application was made available internally and to a small client base through Apple’s App Store and Google Play in February, with some 50,000 downloads. It is now available for the general public.
 
“We are encouraging them to fully move. It is going to be a better experience for our clients, and that’s why we’d like them to move as soon as possible,” BPI platforms business head Fitz Chee told reporters.
 
The new application is expected to have enhanced features such as an artificial intelligence-powered financial advisor, which will be rolled out in the latter half of the year.
 
The earlier version will continue to be available for users but will eventually be phased out before the end of the year. 
 
“We’re very excited about this. It really is the culmination of, I guess, months of work trying to redesign the app and improving it to make sure that we are doing better,” BPI president and CEO Jose Teodoro “TG” Limcaoco said.
 
“We don’t really want to say this is the best because we believe we can always improve; that’s why we say we’re going to always do better, but this is clearly better than the past,” he added.
 
BPI reported a full-year net income of P39.6 billion in 2022, reflecting a 66% climb from the previous year and a 37.5% growth from the pre-pandemic bottom line recorded in 2019.
 
Its principal subsidiaries include BPI Family Savings Bank Inc., BPI Capital Corp., BPI Direct BanKo Inc., BPI International Finance Limited, BPI Remittance Centre Hong Kong Ltd., BPI (Europe) Plc., BPI/MS Insurance Corp., BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp., and BPI Investment Management Inc.
—VBL, GMA Integrated News