Tag: banking

Singapore –  A staggering 70% of banks in APAC failed to achieve digital transformation for their banking platform, as reported by Backbase. 

The latest report challenges the long-standing default approach of building in-house solutions for digital engagement banking platforms. 

According to the data, 65% of mid- to large-sized banks in the region have opted to build their engagement banking platform in-house to attain digital transformation. And of this number, 70% of these projects have failed due to costly and lengthy in-house efforts. 

An overwhelming 80% of digital engagement platforms built in-house with a budget of $10 million also face underperformance and have not yielded the desired ROE in their digital initiatives. 

Despite having embarked on digital transformation since the 2000s, many banks in APAC remain at an early stage, failing to fully capitalize on its benefits and deliver compelling digital customer engagements.

Furthermore, the latest report also highlights a crucial disconnect between banks and their customers, where most banking products and offerings are deemed “me-too” and limited, resulting in shortfalls in digital experiences. 

As banks focus on locking in a high amount of resources to get banking platforms into shape, they fail to prioritize the creation of differentiated upstream customer journeys and experiences. As a result, customers face challenges accessing multiple services through disparate interfaces, lack a unified view of their portfolios, and endure lengthy onboarding processes. 

The demand for instantaneous approvals and streamlined digital processes remains unmet, while personalized experiences, segmentation, and relevant promotions based on customers’ lifestyles, life moments, and goals continue to elude them.

Additionally, backend operations suffer due to the lack of intelligent assistance in contact centers, leaving customers repeating information to different service officers due to the absence of a 360-degree unified customer view. 

However, the current report also found that the “Adopt and Build” approach is a pragmatic solution for banks to accelerate their go-to-market efforts, differentiating where it matters instead of reinventing the wheel by building from scratch. 

By adopting a collaborative platform and building upon it, banks can achieve a 40% faster time-to-market, where digital engagement banking platforms can be launched within 11 months, as compared to the traditional 20 months with a full “build” approach. In addition, “Adopt and Build” had proven to be more cost-effective, offering 2.3 times more than the traditional in-house “build” option.

The “Adopt and Build” approach was rated highest and had shown tangible advantages across six key metrics: market fit and differentiation, legacy risk, build risk, time to market, modernizing talent and IT skill sets, and regulatory compliance. This is in comparison to the “Build” and “Buy” approaches.

The in-depth report draws insights from 125 banks and 316 CIOs in APAC to offer a full regional perspective on digital transformation. Backbase commissioned IDC InfoBrief for the report. 

Ashish Kakar, research director of financial insights at IDC Asia Pacific, said, “Building in-house has been a de-facto strategy by banks, but it’s no longer feasible to deliver to the pace and scale that is required to be competitive. The complexities that come with the extensive amount of data layers, channels, features, upstream and downstream integration that needs to support legacy and modern systems to manage and orchestrate sophisticatedly is where in-house implementation breaks apart.” 

Riddhi Dutta, regional vice president at Backbase Asia, also shared, “A true platform comes with all the hygiene requirements from market fit, to security and regulatory compliance, to being versatile and customizable to support each bank’s unique customer needs. The platform is a composable fabric providing modularity and re-usable data and journeys for banks to help banks futureproof at scale.” 

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Bank has recently launched a service concept branch depicting what the future of banking looks like. Said concept branch opened at the Festival Walk shopping centre.

The new branch features Hong Kong’s first smart teller, which combines a personalised service model with leading-edge digital technologies. Customers can use the smart banking counter located in the lobby of the new branch to conduct most types of banking services, including Hong Kong dollar, Renminbi and US dollar cash deposits of banknotes. 

Moreover, it also features a digital branch service executive, which can provide assistance with most personal account-related enquiries, which enables customers to save time by removing the need to wait for traditional teller counters.

In addition, the ‘Future Banking’ concept puts strong emphasis on the ability to personalise e-banking services.

Diana Cesar, executive director and chief executive at Hang Seng, said, “Our ‘Future Banking’ service concept has been developed to meet the future needs of our customers. Our innovative approach, coupled with the adoption of advanced technologies and a sustainable development philosophy, allows us to offer our diverse customer base with creative, caring and forward-looking banking services.”

She added, “The opening of our new branch in Festival Walk also marks the beginning of our ‘Future Banking’ service commitment, which is fully aligned with Hang Seng’s brand values. We will continue to innovate and reinforce our position as a customer-centric industry leader, reflecting our vision to be ‘Ever Growing, Ever Innovating’ in the service of our clients.”

Singapore – In its recently released Bank and Payment Brand Rankings 2022, market research company YouGov unveiled that local banks DBS and POSB have snagged the top spot in Singapore. 

DBS led the list with a total score of 41.0, followed by POSB at 34.2 points. Digital payment company VISA came in third place with a score of 26.8 while Singaporean bank OCBC followed closely at 26.1.

Completing the top ten is Mastercard at 25 points, commercial bank UOB with 22.9 points, Paypal with 22.1 points, Citibank with 14.7 points, Standard Chartered Bank with 12.5, and American Express at 9.8 points. 

YouGov also revealed the most improved brands in the financial services sector, including Paypal and digital banking app Revolut, both with a +1.1 change in score. Other banks on the list are Mastercard and UOB, who had improved scores of +0.3 each.

The rankings are based on YouGov BrandIndex’s positive consideration score, which measures the percentage of a brand’s customers who would consider it when next in the market to make a purchase.

The brands were ranked between October 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022. Moreover, the scores were rounded to a single decimal place with additional precision to assign ranks.

Meanwhile, the improvers were determined by their change in score between the said period and the previous twelve months. 

YouGov has also previously released the overall brand rankings in Singapore, unveiling Singapore Airlines as the top brand for 2022.

Vietnam – Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank, also known as Techcombank, has announced its multimillion-dollar and multi-year partnership with Adobe. The partnership will be seeing the launch of the first end-to-end customer experience technology platform in Vietnam.

Techcombank will be using Adobe Experience Cloud to deliver hyper-personalised banking experiences in real-time across offline and digital touchpoints. The launch will also mark a significant milestone in Vietnam and Southeast Asia’s banking industry.

Techcombank’s investment in Adobe Experience Cloud, including Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform (CDP), will form part of the integrated technology platform that will help determine the best personalisation format for its customers. This will be done by analyzing customer browsing behaviours and deploying persona-based discovery paths.

“Today’s consumers are banking across multiple online and offline channels, and it is critical that we meet their expectations wherever they choose to engage or transact,” said Jens Lottner, chief executive officer at Techcombank. 

He added, “With Adobe’s successful track record of working with leading financial services organizations around the world for the past decade, we are excited to partner with Adobe on our ongoing five-year transformation strategy, and accelerate our journey of being the leader in the customer-led digitization of the Financial Services Industry (FSI) in Vietnam.”

Simon Dale, managing director of Southeast Asia and Korea at Adobe, also said, “We are thrilled to be part of Techcombank’s journey to enable the digital transformation of Vietnam’s finance and banking industry.”

He further commented, “Using Adobe Experience Cloud, Techcombank will be able to deliver better and faster experiences for customers, advancing its long-term vision to inspire a more robust digital skills economy and workforce reskilling in Vietnam.”

As Vietnam aims to accelerate national digital transformation efforts in the finance and banking industry, Techcombank and Adobe will also be building the digital skills economy by unveiling an inaugural Center of Excellence (CoE) to upskill teams and develop digital talent.

To this, Dale commented, “Our CoE will develop the digital capabilities of teams within Techcombank to leverage the tools within Adobe Experience Cloud. This will simultaneously accelerate the bank’s digital transformation journey and enable the development of industry-leading digital talent within the bank.”

Adobe has also previously made updates to its Adobe Substance 3D suite to help brands be more metaverse-ready.

Bangladesh – Germany-based financial service provider Deutsche Bank will be expanding its global network with the launch of its first representative office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. With this new market entry, Deutsche Bank’s regional footprint in the Asia Pacific will now span 15 diverse markets.

The representative office will be focusing on supporting multinational corporate clients, predominantly exporters to Bangladesh. The bank has hired Syed Naushad Zaman, formerly deputy head of the Commerzbank Representative Office, to be the new chief representative officer at Deutsche Bank in Bangladesh.

According to the Embassy of Bangladesh, Germany is the largest trading partner of Bangladesh in Europe and the second largest globally. German exports to Bangladesh have tripled in the past 25 years.

“We continue to grow and invest in our business in the Asia Pacific. We are proud that in our 150th anniversary in the Asia Pacific, we are welcoming the 15th market to our strong regional network. With its fast-growing economy, we enter this market to support its increasing participation in regional and global trade,” said Alexander von zur Muehlen, Deutsche Bank’s CEO for APAC and member of the Management Board.

Meanwhile, Atul Jain, Deutsche Bank’s global co-head for trade finance and lending, noted, “Bangladesh is an increasingly strategic market for both our global multinational and German corporate clients. This representative office reflects our firm commitment to support our clients’ evolving risk management and financing needs in this dynamic growth market.”

Jakarta, Indonesia – Banking and financial services company DBS has announced the appointment of Lim Chu Chong as the new president director of DBS Indonesia. The appointment takes effect immediately, succeeding Paulus Sutisna.

Chong, who was previously the chief operating officer of the Institutional Banking Group (IBG) by DBS, will be part of DBS’ Group Management Committee as well. 

He has over 25 years of experience in institutional, SME and consumer banking, and previously served in DBS Indonesia as commissioner. During his role at IBG, he has led key business transformations, including a new customer experience office to enhance customer engagement, as well as setting up an employee experience office to improve employee experience and drive productivity.

Speaking on Chong’s appointment, Piyush Gupta, CEO at DBS, said, “Indonesia is a key market for DBS, and under Paulus’ leadership, our business has not only grown but become more diversified, with good balance across the consumer/ wealth and institutional banking segments.” 

He added, “In recent years, he has also brought our strong digital capabilities to bear in the market, enabling us to deliver seamless banking to clients. As a career DBS banker with deep business and market experience, I am confident that Chu Chong will build on our strengths in Indonesia and take the business to the next level.”

Meanwhile, Sutisna will be appointed as non-independent commissioner of DBS Indonesia in due course.

Jakarta, Indonesia – As the financial services industry in Indonesia is returning to a state of normalcy, local banks and insurers are encouraged to step up their engagement strategies amidst a changing demographic landscape in the country, new data from sales engagement solutions provider Vymo.

According to the insights, around 73% of consumers say a differentiated experience, not just an acceptable experience, is what it takes for a customer to remain loyal. Meanwhile leading banks and insurers will use relevant and responsible personalization as a key differentiator to create loyal clients, while dedicated advisors will be responsible for creating stronger brand loyalty for customers.

It also noted that financial service institutions will need to build a salesforce that can adapt, attract and retain the loyalties of Indonesia’s digital-savvy consumer class with considerable spending power. While the quality of financial products and services from data utilisation has improved significantly, customer expectations in terms of product relevance, personalised buying experience, and post-sales support are key differentiators in the digital landscape.

Rajesh Sabhlok, managing director for APAC at Vymo, said, “Previously, lifestyle insurance was based on life stages. Someone starts a family, you talk to them about the increased cover they need. They change their jobs, there’s a salary hike, you advise them to set aside a part as insurance. But today, you can’t meet them in person. Here’s where technology enables remote engagement with customers.”

Vietnam – The Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB) has tapped cloud banking platform Temenos to modernise its core banking system. Through the partnership, MSB’s multiple homegrown and legacy systems will be replaced with Temenos’ open platform for composable banking.

Through Temenos core banking solutions for retail and corporate banking, including analytics, payments and data lake capabilities, MSB can bring innovative new products to market much faster at a significantly lower cost. It can also leverage the power of big data to deliver hyper-personalised customer experiences. This will provide the bank a competitive edge to keep pace with the current and future banking needs of Vietnam’s largely young and increasingly affluent population.

Nguyen Hoang Linh, CEO of MSB, said, “MSB aims to become a universal bank for the digital 4.0 era on a par with the best and biggest international banks. Revamping our technology infrastructure with Temenos’ open platform will accelerate digitization and increase automation.” 

He added, “Such efforts will help to significantly reduce costs, improve customer experience and heighten the bank’s competitive advantage. This transformation with Temenos is already well underway, helping MSB meet ever-changing retail and corporate customer demands in a highly competitive market.”

Meanwhile, David Becker, managing director for APAC at Temenos, commented, “MSB has an ambitious five-year digital roadmap, transforming the bank for the open, digital era. We are proud to support and partner with the bank on this journey. Temenos has proven technology and local expertise in Vietnam with more than 20 banking clients across retail, corporate and wealth sectors. With our deep regional expertise and open platform architecture, MSB is well-positioned to capture the opportunities brought about by Vietnam’s digital banking boom.”

Temenos has been previously tapped by local bank Saigon-Hanoi Bank in order to accelerate the bank’s digital transformation.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Alliance Bank Malaysia has launched its latest digital solution, Digital SME, which aims to help SMEs manage and grow their business faster by leveraging the bank’s suite of innovative digital solutions.

The Digital SME loan offers up to RM500,000 collateral-free financing via a simple online process that only requires submission of the company’s six-month bank statement. To facilitate the application process, the Digital SME loan application is available in three languages, namely English, Bahasa Malaysia, and Mandarin. The bank also provides advice to SMEs on how to establish credit history and improve their credit profile.

Kevin Shum, Alliance Bank’s SVP and head of Digital SME, noted that they know that micro-enterprises may face issues obtaining financing due to their limited credit history, so they wanted to help them build their credit history by starting them with a small credit line, and subsequently help them expand by providing them quick access to financing via Digital SME once they are ready. He further shared that this financial year, they aim to provide up to RM200 million in digital SME loans.

“We want to enable our business customers to remotely open a digital business current account anytime, anywhere. The digital business account will comprise several innovative features, including a small overdraft line and business credit or debit card to help business owners manage their expenses more efficiently,” said Shum.

In addition to financing, Digital SME also offers financial advice on managing the business more efficiently. Aaron Sum, Alliance Bank’s group chief strategy of marketing and business development officer, stated, “Micro and small businesses face their own unique challenges while running their business, such as limited access to operational resources and recruiting talent. Through our BizSmart Solution portal, businesses can access relevant products and services such as digital marketing, logistics, accounting and data analytics at better rates to help them grow and run their business efficiently.”

BizSmart Solution portal is a one-stop online business community portal with over 200 partners, enabling business owners to reach out to new customers and access a wide range of business solutions at preferential rates.

The Digital SME financing is applicable to businesses that have been in operation for at least a year and with an annual turnover between RM50,000 and RM30 million.

Singapore – ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank in Singapore under Ant Group, has announced its soft launch. This follows its receipt of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) approval to commence business on 2 June 2022. 

The new digital bank will focus on providing digital financial services to local and regional MSMEs, especially those engaging in cross-border operations for growth and global expansion.

Toh Su Mei, ANEXT Bank’s CEO, believes that it’s time to offer the next generation of financial services that are accessible and effortless for growing businesses, and financial services have to evolve and be where SMEs are doing their businesses digitally.

“We are well-positioned to live up to this vision, leveraging Ant Group’s deep bench of technologies and know-how, along with our customer-obsessed local team dedicated to serving the SME community. Adopting an open and collaborative approach, we believe in joining hands with industry partners and the public sector to provide SMEs with financial services that are simpler, safer and more rewarding,” she said

Meanwhile, Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at MAS, said that this marks yet another milestone in Singapore’s digital bank development journey, a strategic effort to ensure the banking sector remains progressive, globally competitive and vibrant. 

“MAS expects the digital banks to thrive and synergise with our dynamic financial institutions and raise the bar in delivering quality financial services and uplift Singapore’s financial sector to better support the growth of SMEs in Singapore, the region and in emerging markets,” added Mohanty.

ANEXT Bank has also signed a two-year MoU with Proxtera – the entity supported by MAS, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and private sector entities, to transform and enable holistic cross-border trade amongst SMEs and businesses by making marketplaces efficient and discoverable globally, with embedded financing, fulfilment services, and SME empowerment.

The MoU will see both organisations jointly create and establish an open framework for all participating financial institutions as they provide financing and risk mitigation support for SMEs and platforms in global trades. ANEXT Bank will also be Proxtera’s first participating digital wholesale bank in Singapore to lead the way in providing financing solutions to the buyers and sellers on Proxtera’s network.

Saurav Bhattacharyya, Proxtera’s CEO, shared that their commitment is to simplify global trade for SMEs and uplift them with the power of networks, leveraging modern technology to improve discoverability, accessibility, availability, and affordability of innovative digital services. 

“This mission is closely aligned with ANEXT Bank’s focus to serve SMEs engaging in cross-border operations. Together with ANEXT Bank’s digital-born identity and digital-first capabilities and services, I’m confident that we can make trade easier, more seamless and efficient for SMEs,” said Bhattacharyya.

As part of its soft launch, ANEXT Bank has provided a preview of the ANEXT Business Account, a dual-currency deposit account with proprietary security measures including three-factor authentication verification, as well as features, such as remote onboarding and daily interest. 

The bank is also calling on SMEs to share their thoughts on what they hope to see in financial services – it recognises in order to bring about what’s next in financial services, it starts with the needs of SMEs. Entries, as well as registrations of interest to open an account, are available from today via its website www.ANEXT.com.sg. The ANEXT Business Account will be made available to the general SME community in the third quarter of 2022.