OCBC brings mobile banking to the Apple Watch in Singapore

Photo credit: Terence Ong.

Apple Watch owners in Singapore! Here’s a brand-new reason for you to fire up your gadget for a couple of hours and then let it get back to being the expensive notification machine that it is.

I kid, I kid.

But seriously, don’t you wish you could take care of your banking using just your Apple Watch? I’m ignoring all the people who are currently shaking their heads and mumbling “not really” and I’m focusing on this person over here, who’s nodding enthusiastically. Well, sir, now you can!

The OCBC app seems to work mostly as a companion to the iPhone app.

Singapore’s OCBC bank has just debuted its banking app for Apple’s wearable. OCBC customers can use it to access information like their account balances, their credit cards, recent transactions (up to five), investments, and more.

OCBC says they can also use the Watch to track down the nearest OCBC branch or ATM.

The Watch app is activated through its iPhone counterpart, at which point the relevant information is displayed on the Watch screen without the need to log in. The pairing only works between one set of iPhone and Apple Watch at a time, and information like account numbers is masked for additional security. There is no information stored on the Watch or the phone, and users can also set up a passcode on their Watch to be extra sure.

The service is available to owners of iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S or iPhone 6S Plus running iOS 9, and Apple Watch devices running WatchOS2.

OCBC’s app isn’t meant to make payments using the Apple Watch, unlike DBS’ Paylah app for Apple’s device, which launched in June 2015. The OCBC app seems to work mostly as a companion to the iPhone app than as its own distinct offering. On the other hand, it provides quick and easy access to your banking information, should you need it in a jiffy.

OCBC is hopeful for its entry in wearable banking, citing a report by intelligence firm IDC that shows that the worldwide wearable device market will reach a total of 111.1 million units shipped in 2016. The same report gives Apple a 51.1 percent share of the wearable market by 2019.

The problem is, most Apple Watch users don’t seem to be doing that much with their devices. Arguably, most people would probably just choose to take the extra step of pulling their phone out of their pocket for any mobile banking needs.