OCBC launches AI avatar banking with $771M annual AI spend

What happened

Singapore's OCBC Bank unveiled an AI-enabled 'avatar banking' app featuring two virtual financial advisors named 'Wendy' and 'Wayne,' trained on the bank's proprietary research data. The app, called OCBC WoW, will roll out first as a beta to fifty users, then to wealth clients, and eventually to retail customers. OCBC plans to spend more than one billion Singapore dollars ($771 million（約1200億円）) annually over the next three years on AI.

Why it matters

Banks face rising demand for financial advice as wealth grows, yet the U.S. alone might face a shortfall of up to 110,000 advisors by 2045 according to a 2025 McKinsey report. AI avatars could allow banks to offer high-quality advice to more customers at lower cost. However, a recent HSBC-commissioned survey found that 62% of affluent individuals still credited humans as 'the main source' of investment ideas, even as over 70% said they used AI in their financial decisions.

What to watch

CEO Tan Teck Long pledged to hire 600 new relationship managers, saying the bank aims to 'increase the workforce' rather than reduce it through automation. The avatars currently speak English only; the bank hopes to eventually train them in Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, and Bahasa Melayu to serve its four core markets.