The best banks of the past 12 months from the Asia-Pacific region.

 
 
 
     

Afghanistan, Afghanistan International Bank 

Afghanistan International Bank (AIB) continues to push forward in establishing a strong banking sector in Afghanistan. AIB is the only private sector bank in the country that transacts a high volume of payments from non-Commonwealth of Independent States countries, managing about 25,000 payments with a value of $2.5bn annually. 

As the bank looks to boost its security credentials, it has outlined the aim of becoming the first Information Security Management System ISO 27001-certified financial institution in Afghanistan. The bank plans to use its enhanced security features to reduce risk and improve the protection of assets, which will mitigate the potential for losses. The changes were approved as the bank conducted the Swift Customer Security Programme External Audit, which found the bank was meeting the required objectives, and validates the bank’s earlier self-assessment report. 

AIB has been proactive in its approach to ensuring it is providing the best quality of service. In July 2018 the bank undertook a comprehensive assessment of its ‘know your customer’ practices. This resulted in AIB implementing enhanced due diligence to check the family and associates network of its customers, improving customer risk ratings and details on remittances. 

The bank has also been proactive in promoting the development of a modern banking network in Afghanistan. Although only 15.7% of the population has a mobile phone with internet access, AIB has launched its digital banking mobile app to meet consumer banking needs, including making domestic and international transfers. 

The app runs on Oracle Digital Banking Experience 17.2 technology, and is available for both iOS and Android system users. Previously, the only mobile banking services available in Afghanistan were tied to mobile wallets and SMS banking.  

Bangladesh, Standard Chartered Bangladesh 

Standard Chartered Bangladesh (SCB) has taken a progressive role in looking at how it can connect the opportunities in Bangladesh with its own extensive intra-regional network of banks and corporates. The bank has looked at how best to optimise the country’s position in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and has been an active supporter of Bangladesh’s developing trade corridors. During 2018, SCB performed 25% of the country’s US dollar clearing. 

SCB has worked as a mediator between Chinese investors and Bangladeshi companies to promote investment opportunities. The bank set up a dedicated China desk to provide support for Chinese clients in the country. There have also been additional resources for supporting the Japan trade corridor.

The bank has been instrumental in attracting investment into Bangladesh by hosting investment summits in key hubs including Singapore, Hong Kong and London. 

There have also been steps to improve the bank’s internal processes by implementing robotic process automation. This has benefited the setting up of processes such as standing orders and e-statement registration, as the information is automatically inputted at the end of each day. The process has had a qualitative result: the account services have saved 66% in operational efficiency. 

SCB also took steps to modernise the Bangladeshi mortgage market with the introduction of the MortgageOne product. This product links the customer’s mortgage to their existing current account. The balance in the current account is used to offset the loan outstanding, a feature that reduces the level of interest paid and results in a reduced loan tenure. 

The new mortgage has brought benefits for the bank in increasing current account ‘stickiness’ with users. In nine months, MortgageOne has contributed about 30% to SCB’s overall mortgage portfolio growth, while its mortgage portfolio balance has grown by 7% in the same timeframe. 

Brunei, Baiduri Bank 

Leveraging off the back of the bank’s buy-out of HSBC Brunei’s portfolio in 2017, Baiduri Bank was able to ambitiously expand its operations during 2018. The acquisition helped to boost confidence in the bank, bringing in additional customers and improving prospects for cross-selling. For example, the bank has already seen the number of its cards in circulation increase by 10% on 2017’s numbers. 

Buoyed by this success, Baiduri Bank has also been looking into how it can expand its business by moving into non-traditional sectors. The bank entered into a partnership with Royal Brunei Airlines to finance two new aircraft as part of the airline’s refleeting programme. The bank has also worked in the oil and gas sector, agreeing a deal to finance a new vessel for a customer. 

Improvements were also made to Baiduri’s online banking platform for corporate customers, with a bulk payment function for business banking introduced in July 2018 which allows the corporate to pay several beneficiaries in one transaction. Personal online banking has been updated with an easier sign-up experience. Overall, the bank has seen use of online banking increase by 34.7% and of mobile apps by 61.2% between 2017 and 2018. This increased take-up of online banking has also allowed the bank to move towards paperless transactions. 

As cash is still a widely used payment method in Brunei, the bank has been ensuring that its ATM network meets customer requirements. Small and medium-sized companies in commercial areas have been educated on how to use ATMs to deposit their funds at the end of the working day. The bank launched five new offsite ATMs in strategic locations for business customer use, and, as of June 2019, the bank had 54 ATMs in operation. 

Cambodia, Advanced Bank of Asia 

Advanced Bank of Asia (ABA Bank) undertook an ambitious expansion programme in 2018 to bring the bank’s facilities closer to its customers across Cambodia. Fifteen branches were opened, the most the bank has ever opened in one year, and the bank also extended the opening hours at six of its busiest branches to accommodate the needs of its customers. 

The bank’s expansion was not limited to its physical presence, as it also moved to create a wider network of digital services. ABA Bank upgraded its technology platforms, integrating Oracle FlexCube to accommodate its rising number of customers and ensure a high level of protection and security for their accounts.

“In the past few years, ABA has clearly become a market frontrunner thanks to its customer-centric approach and early move into mobile banking,” says ABA Bank CEO Askhat Azhikhanov. “The bank invests heavily in new technologies, adopts an agile strategy, and, as a result, outperforms in financial digitalisation. Our digital excellence is perfectly coupled with our lending strategy of providing productive loans to microbusinesses and smaller businesses in real sectors of the economy.” 

The bank’s ABA Mobile app also grew during 2018. The bank waived the fee for customers transferring cash between accounts and withdrawing from ABA Bank ATMs without the use of a debit card. The use of virtual cards was expanded, with app users now able to have up to 10 virtual cards they can use for a variety of functions, including online purchases. 

To encourage Cambodians to move away from cash transactions, the bank expanded its PayWay facility for the e-commerce sector. An invoicing tool was introduced in 2018 which enables the vendor to issue an invoice and send it directly to the customer via their e-mail or messaging app. Payment can then be made by scanning a QR code or through the PayWay website. 

China, Agricultural Bank of China 

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) has established its position as a mobile banking provider, recording 284 million users as of June 2019. But what is really impressive is how the bank is continuing to innovate across digital platforms. 

To expand its reach, the bank developed the Finance Brain artificial intelligence platform. The system can identify 35 different types of bills with a 99.7% rate of accuracy. When the merchant service public account and credit management platform accessed Finance Brain, they saw a 98% rate of accuracy. The bank also developed the platform for use in a self-service voice activation and navigation system, which saw 93.4% accuracy. 

ABC has focused on providing facilities to meet the needs of even the smallest businesses on its books, and increased the value of small and micro loans by 36.45%. The bank moved its focus towards providing low denomination loans issued digitally. The bank’s micro e-loans were enhanced with the Micro Quick Loan, the Quick Loan, and the Supply Chain Quick Loan. Working with the government, the bank created a pre-filled online form to facilitate account opening for the governmental service platform. 

Supporting the areas of the country most in need of financing assistance also became an important focus for the bank. Branches in the poorest areas were given a separate scale for loans with preferential capital measurers and financial resources to support companies in their communities. By the end of June 2019, the bank had seen the balance of loans in the 832 key areas of national poverty alleviation exceed Rmb1tn ($142.3bn), marking 12% growth on the figure recorded at the end of 2018. 

These areas were helped by the provision of an expanded range of basic financial services. ABC actively sought to promote the use of mobile banking, as well as setting up self-service outlets and new branches in these regions.

Hong Kong, HSBC Hong Kong 

HSBC Hong Kong has made an impact by taking steps to make banking accessible to all customers. Recognising the issues posed by an ageing population in Hong Kong, the bank introduced programmes catered to their needs. 

The HSBC Basic Banking Account with Independence has been designed for people suffering with dementia, to help them to manage their finances and withdraw funds, but with important financial changes given to a third party to manage. The bank also introduced 200 dementia friend ambassadors into its branches to support people with specific needs. HSBC is also upgrading its branches to make them accessible to people that have restricted mobility. 

Small companies and entrepreneurs have been given a boost with the launch of the HSBC Sprint Account. Designed for these small companies, the bank account offers them a range of services to help them to grow their businesses. They can access foreign exchange, payments and collections services, as well as insurance solutions. They also gain access to facilities that go beyond their banking needs, including cloud-based HR systems and integrated accounting software. 

Business banking customers have also benefited from the launch of PayMe for Business, a person-to-merchant payments app that allows payments to be made easily by customers using the PayMe mobile app. For companies to use PayMe for Business they just need to download the app, with no associated set-up costs. 

Diana Cesar, chief executive of HSBC Hong Kong, says: “Of the 7 million people who live in Hong Kong, almost 5 million bank with HSBC. To maintain our number one position is a great achievement in an increasingly competitive market, and it is a real testament to how we are committed to growing the business, developing strong client relationships, as well as serving the community. Winning the Hong Kong award is a reminder that we need to keep surpassing ourselves.” 

India, Yes Bank 

Making banking easier and more accessible for its small and medium-sized enterprise customers really set Yes Bank apart from the field over the awards review period. 

The bank made it a strategic focus to tackle the requirements of customers across three key areas. It wanted to give them simplified access to funds, provide training on regulatory developments, and offer support in moving towards more sustainable practices. 

Implementing credit systems through digital platforms helped the bank to improve access to funds. The Yes Smart Overdraft provides working capital finance in real time, using artificial intelligence (AI) to credit score the applicants without the need for financial statements. Yes Bank also established in-branch and online training for companies alongside the introduction of the country’s new Goods and Sales Tax. 

Sustainability was encouraged through the Say Yes to Sustainable MSMEs in India initiative to encourage energy efficiency, improve health and safety, and promote financial literacy. Since launch the scheme has impacted more than 21,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across 14 states. It has also brought about a 13,500-metric-ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. 

Retail customers also received a helping hand with the launch of Yes Robot. An AI banking assistant, the service has reduced the number of customer queries, with 6 million interactions recorded since launch. The bank has reported a 10% increase in availability, and increased customer satisfaction. 

Meanwhile, the bank’s sales team has been able to access the Yes Genie, which uses machine learning to give a comprehensive overview of their clients. 

The trade business has been updated through the launch of Yes Transact Smart Trade, a digital solution that removes the need for paper documents to be submitted for export or import payments. The cross-border service has reduced the time to payment from 72 hours to real-time remittances.  

Indonesia, Bank OCBC NISP 

Bank OCBC NISP identified clear areas in which to improve business operations in our awards review period, helping it to win the prize for Indonesia. 

Small business owners were given a boost when the bank launched the Nyala Bisnis platform, through which customers can run separate personal and business accounts. Customers can also access their accounts on the move, because both are found in the bank’s ONe Mobile app. The platform supports access to accounting software to assist with transaction reconciliation and invoice management. 

Customers can also access retail banking features, including savings accounts and wealth management products, and pre-approved financing when needed. In recognition of the important position the account holders may occupy within the family, they are also provided with a free life insurance policy. 

To help young people to get their foot on the property ladder, the bank introduced the Easy Start Home Ownership Loan, aimed at workers aged between 21 and 40 and offering mortgages of between 10 and 25 years. The loan’s key feature is a progressive mortgage payment that gives lower instalment payments on the first six years of the loan, when the buyers may have a lower monthly salary. 

To facilitate this new loan, the bank had to perform a number of changes internally, including updating its core systems to allow for the progressive payments (which use a different principal and interest composition to standard home loans). The bank also worked to explain the benefits of the loan to both prospective customers and property companies. 

“Our 78 years of experience is a testament of Bank OCBC NISP’s strong combination in upholding integrity and promoting innovation to serve a rapidly changing market,” says Parwati Surjaudaja, CEO of Bank OCBC NISP. “We believe that our digital transformation, strong financials and good corporate citizenship are key ingredients to continue to build a sustainable future.”  

Kazakhstan, ATFBank 

ATFBank recorded strong results from its focus on its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business in 2018, onboarding 10,000 companies. The bank’s SME portfolio increased by 41% and the volume of loans provided to customers went up by 40% compared with 2017. Loan processing has been improved, with the average time for application approval falling from 43 days in 2016 to 14 days in 2018. 

Digitisation has helped ATFBank to streamline its operations. In July 2018 the bank implemented the Landau credit analysis system to process SME lending, which uses pre-trained machine learning to compare data from various documents, checking for accuracy and flagging any issues to the relationship manager.

The supply chain of the borrower is also assessed by Landau, highlighting risks, such as if the borrower is dependent on a small number of suppliers. The revenue streams of the applicant are also checked, with issues such as decreasing month-by-month sales being flagged. All of this can be achieved by Landau within a few minutes of a loan application being submitted. 

Retail customers received a boost in 2018 with the arrival of the Vertical Card No 1. To differentiate itself from the other cards offered in the Kazakh market, the bank gives customers 5% real cashback rather than the points normally offered. Further, the bank also introduced free withdrawal of cash of up to Tg300,000 ($770) a month at any ATM globally, with funds available in dollars, euros and roubles. 

“Our main advantage is that we make the needs of our customers the cornerstone,” says CEO Sergey Kovalenko. “Over the years of close co-operation with our partners, we have identified a number of important customer needs: efficiency and speed in decision making, quality of service, professionalism of bank employees and loyalty to customers.”  

Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank

Recognising the difficulties in the Kyrgyz banking system, Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) opted to focus on providing support for an underserved area of the business community: microcredit. 

The bank moved into the sector in November 2018 as part of a wider strategy to reduce dependence on the corporate sector. Using its existing resources, the bank reassigned 66 of its small and medium-sized enterprise credit offices to microloans, and recruited an additional 20 junior members of staff. To ensure the success of this move, the bank collaborated with a microloans company. With this set up, KICB has set the impressive goal of having a microcredit loan book of $59m and 80,000 borrowers by the end of 2022. 

There were also steps in 2018 to improve the bank’s core functions as it upgraded its IT systems. Following a period of testing, the bank installed the Oracle FlexCube v12.4 system in one day, a complete migration of the whole bank from the old platform to the new. Further updates were applied to individual banking segments, with a new customer relationship management system providing a comprehensive overview of a customer’s business through one window. Banking security was also enhanced, with the bank using an independent IT security unit to monitor safety of the banking systems. 

KICB has also looked to support its customers, implementing an education project to support women aged 50 or over in IT and mobile phone technologies. Working in conjunction with the Roza Otunbayeva Initiative, the bank is aiming to improve the levels of financial inclusion among Kyrgyzstan’s unbanked population. 

“It’s an honour to receive The Banker’s award,” says Zakir Mahmood, chairman of the board at KICB. “This award is a testament to the work of our staff, the trust of our customers and the bank’s commitment on its vision – to make a substantial contribution into the development of Kyrgyzstan.” 

Macau, Bank of China Macau Branch

Bank of China (BOC) Macau Branch has taken steps to provide the best possible service to its customers, but also to invest in the development of its local area. 

With Asia leading the way in mobile payments, BOC Macau has launched an integrated payment for QR codes. Covering the bank’s own payment option alongside Alipay and WeChat Pay, BOC Pay comes in response to the local government’s desire for the Macau special administrative region to become a smart city. The payment system will support the needs of the bank’s customers, local companies and visitors from mainland China, with only one point-of-sale terminal needed to process the transactions, regardless of the payment solution used by the customer. 

“For BOC Macau, the implementation of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ strategy has been, and is, a significant opportunity, as the bank has a clear and obvious advantage here,” says Li Guang, general manager at BOC Macau branch. “Our bank has been able to cherish the opportunity to perform on a large stage, as the country’s Reform and Opening era has led to grand initiatives running through Macau, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Greater Bay Area, among others.” 

BOC Macau’s move to support the development of the Greater Bay Area is another of its key developments. The bank launched the All Weather Greater Bay Area Strategy Fund to provide a stable fund option for investors. The fund is notable for being the first of the bank’s funds to include the Macau pataca as a settlement currency, with the pataca subsequently being the most popular invested currency. It is also the first time a fund has been launched in Macau ahead of Hong Kong. The fund will handle 70% of investments made into the Greater Bay Area. 

Malaysia, Public Bank 

Public Bank has made huge progress in modernising its banking infrastructure, both through its internal data and by supporting its business customers in keeping up to date with payment innovations. 

In order to make transactions as easy as possible, regardless of the means of payment used, Public Bank launched the all-in-one digital payment terminal. The point-of-sale device supports QR code and chip-and-PIN payments from a range of card providers including Visa and UnionPay. Public Bank has also initiated Alipay, Samsung Pay and WeChat Pay for cross-border transactions. The device has been very popular with vendors, and more than 4000 have been deployed since launch. 

Public Bank has enhanced its DuitNow instant credit transfer service, which allows customers to send money between accounts in different banks using identifiers such as mobile numbers. The service now accepts QR codes as the account identifier. As there is a lower interchange fee applied, the bank hopes this will draw more small companies into accepting cashless payments. 

Digital innovations have been encouraged with the rollout of its Developer Portal, an open-party platform for third-party developers to access the bank’s application programming interfaces. These fintechs can collaborate with the bank in a sandbox environment to develop new banking applications. It is hoped the portal will foster strong relationships between the bank and the fintech community. 

To ensure the ongoing success and resilience of the bank’s digital platforms, in 2018 Public Bank invested RM40m ($9.6m) to upgrade its infrastructure to meet the increasing demand for computing and digital storage. The modernised storage infrastructure brought about greater agility, enhanced data protection, and improved performance of the bank’s data. The new system is under continuous support, with disk-mirroring technology used to ensure the data at the back-up site is kept up to date in real time. 

Mongolia, XacBank 

Throughout 2018, Mongolia’s XacBank focused on improving its technology network to meet the varied requirements of its customers. The bank doubled the number of ATMs across the country to 355, giving it the second largest ATM network in Mongolia. For customers wanting to take their banking online, the bank updated its internet banking platform, adding 135,000 users. The mobile bank was also upgraded, adding 57,000 users. 

“Despite the challenging operating environment, XacBank kept its reputation of one the best-governed banks in Mongolia with a prudent risk management framework to ensure sustainable growth in the future,” says Tsevegjav Gumenjav, CEO of Xacbank. “In addition, we are able to digitise key products and services to meet our customers’ digital lifestyle. Finally, the bank strategically partnered with Mongolian fintechs in the areas of mobile wallets, digital payments, digital currency and merchant solutions.”  

The bank also embraced the most cutting-edge solutions in banking. In partnership with Visa debit cards and Mongolian telecoms provider MobiCom, XacBank launched a card supporting the Candy digital currency. Candy is the only digital currency approved by the Central Bank of Mongolia. The card offers 1% cashback in Candy currency to customers, who can withdraw the currency from the XacBank ATM network, or make purchases on the XacBank merchant network. Within six months of launch, the card is the most active in the bank’s portfolio. 

XacBank has also made developments in its environmental, social and corporate governance strategy through its collaboration with Mercy Corps on the Green Pasture Loan Project. The facility will see the bank providing a new eco-loan with lower rates to herders who meet pasture-friendly criteria in response to the issues around pasture degradation being seen across rural Mongolia. Participants will also have access to funding for animal collection and delivery. 

Nepal, Mega Bank Nepal 

Mega Bank Nepal has worked towards creating a way of banking that reaches out to all of its customers, developing tailored products to help them to make the most of their finances. 

In June 2018, the bank launched the Mega Corporate Benefit Savings Account (MCBSA), a special savings deposit product designed for payroll accounts of employees of institutions including schools, hospitals and non-governmental organisations. As well as receiving a debit card, cheque book and account statements, account holders have the added benefit of receiving health and accidental death insurance. 

These new accounts have helped the bank to build a portfolio of accounts from new or existing customers, seeing 15,000 new accounts opened in the first year. About 10% of savings accounts opened each day at the bank are MCBSAs. The product has the secondary benefit of strengthening the bank’s relationship with the companies using the service. 

Further services have been implemented offering professional loans to salaried employees under the payroll account, targeting the likes of doctors, engineers and university lecturers. 

The bank introduced the mobile banking platform Mega Smart Banking not only to provide banking services on the go, but also to educate customers in digital finance and move towards a cashless society. The mobile platform has 250,000 users. Merchants also benefit as the app can be used to make payments via QR codes, removing the need for them to acquire expensive point-of-sale devices. Since its launch, the bank has seen 12,000 merchants moving to accept QR code payments. 

“Mega Bank’s adherence to its values, the pursuit of its goals, the diversification of services by embracing technology, educating customers through financial literacy, connecting with societies by corporate social responsibility programmes and faith in its employees has led it to heights hitherto unreached,” says Mega Bank CEO Anupama Khunjeli.

Pakistan, Meezan Bank 

Meezan Bank has taken on the challenge of promoting the growth of the formal banking network in Pakistan by promoting sharia-compliant products to retail users, bringing many customers into the banking network for the first time. 

Acknowledging the role of overseas workers in sending money home to Pakistan, the bank launched a new account. By assessing its existing home remittances, the bank found most were categorised as cash over-the-counter transactions. This meant the beneficiary receives the total sum of the remittance in the form of cash, and Meezan loses the deposits that could have remained within the bank. 

In response, the bank developed the Meezan Express current and savings account. Customers can easily open the account, and do not need to visit the bank to collect the funds because the account supports ATM withdrawals. The account has also supported the development of Isamic finance in Pakistan, increasing customer confidence in the formal banking system. As of March 2019, the bank had seen revenue in the product grow to Rs300m ($1.9m), with more than 2500 users. 

Irfan Siddiqui, president and CEO of Meezan Bank, says: “Meezan Bank, in its 17th year of operations, has kept true to the journey that leads towards realising its vision of establishing Islamic banking as banking of first choice. We have the right strategy, the right product mix and we have been able to build the right culture that has supported us in the development of sharia-compliant solutions for the ever-evolving needs of our customers.” 

In recognition of the rising security concerns in Pakistan regarding the use of ATMs, the bank has introduced SkimGuard to enhance debit card security. SkimGuard is enabled for customers using the ATMs to conduct interbank fund transfers, inter-funds transfers and cash withdrawals. 

Philippines, BDO Unibank 

BDO Unibank has achieved success thanks to its focused approach on bringing the best services and loans to customers located across the whole of the Philippines. 

To meet its customers’ needs, the bank has ensured it has a strong branch network, whether under the BDO Unibank branding or the One Network Bank brand, its rural arm. With more than 1300 branches across the country, the bank boasts a strong current account and savings account business. 

Small companies in rural communities have benefited from the creation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) loans, an area that has been largely underserved. The Kabuhayan, or Livelihood, loan is offered at a lower lending rate compared with those of the informal lending sector that MSMEs would have used previously. The loans can be accessed through online bank accounts, in branch, at ATMs, and through the Cash Agad partner merchants with point-of-sale terminals across the country. 

Those accessing this loan can also receive financial literacy education, including personal finance management, savings and risk management with micro insurance products. 

The Philippines’ growing affluent population saw the deployment of life financial advisers to meet the increasing life insurance needs of the middle-income market. Meanwhile, BDO Nomura, an online stock trading platform, was devised for a young and digital-first customer base as a means to broaden the wealth management relationship while generating fees for the bank. 

As well as achieving success through supporting its customers, BDO Unibank received a seal of approval for its sustainability practices. In April 2019, it was given the approval of the Global Reporting Initiative, the independent standards body for sustainable reporting. 

Singapore, DBS Bank

DBS has continued on its journey to provide a fully digital experience for its customers, further strengthening its digital initiative by building stronger partnerships and operating through application programming interfaces (APIs). The process has been a success, with the bank recording strong growth during 2018. It saw net profits increase 28% to a record-high of S$5.6bn ($4.1bn), with return on equity rising to 12.1%. 

DBS formed 25 partnerships regionally during 2018. In the retail banking space, the bank teamed up with Indonesia’s ride-hailing company GoJek. At present, about 35% of Go-Jek’s drivers receive payments in cash. By partnering with DBS, they are able to go cashless and use the DBS PayLah! mobile payments offering to settle fares. The bank also worked with classified ad marketplace Carousell to allow DBS PayLah! to be an accepted payment method. 

DBS expanded its open API developers portal, with 3500 registered developers that work to integrate APIs such as points collections, rewards and bill payments. DBS has published 350 APIs and has partnered with more than 90 institutions. Meanwhile, the bank has been enhancing its corporate customer experience with Joy, its virtual banking assistant. Launched in 2018, the artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot is equipped with features including quick reply and guided conversation facilities. The bank also included a dynamic frequently asked questions function, which allows the user the option to complete the required action in the chat, rather than being redirected to a generic website link. After its initially launch in Singapore, the chatbot has been rolled out in six markets. 

By directing customers to the chatbot rather than making a call, DBS has been able to find the most common customer enquiries. Through this, the bank is able to develop more complex predictive servicing, such as anticipating what banking services customers might want, and a concierge service based on past responses and transaction history. 

South Korea, KEB Hana Bank 

KEB Hana Bank has set itself the target of being driven by data rather than finance, and the bank’s changes over the past year have been motivated by meeting this goal. 

To focus on this priority, the bank formed its digital strategy committee and developed services to expand customers’ digital experience. It continued to develop its mobile branch offering, and as of the end of March 2019, the bank had extended Won8500bn ($7.3bn) in loans across 246,000 cases, and issued 92,000 new credit cards. In its bricks-and-mortar branches, the bank launched the Smart Counter initiative to remove the need for paper. 

To expand its digital offering, the bank has been building a big data platform to forecast delinquency and process customer feedback. The information will be applied to artificial intelligence algorithms and statistical analytics models to be used within the business. The bank has also started its move towards cloud computing in order to meet its goal of converting at least 50% of new business towards cloud computing by 2021. 

Sung-Kyu Ji, CEO at KEB Hana Bank, says: “KEB Hana Bank has been pushing relentlessly to innovate itself, while also paying close attention to its customers’ needs and wants.” 

This focus was clearly demonstrated in how the bank has approached developing services for its customers. Operated through a global loyalty network, the bank launched its Hana Members loyalty scheme, which converts digital money into digital assets that can be used internationally. The information is passed along the blockchain, meaning settlements can be completed in real time. During 2019, the service was made available for customers travelling in Taiwan and Thailand, allowing them to make payments using barcodes through the Hana Members app. 

Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank of Ceylon 

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC) has embarked upon a series of innovations over the past year that have helped to modernise banking in Sri Lanka, improve its own business and enhance banking for its customers. 

The bank collaborated with Mastercard to implement a tokenised payment gateway service for online shopping. Customers can now make payments in a secure way, keeping their card details separate from merchants’ systems, and are required to only enter their full card information during the first purchase. 

Bank customers working in South Korea can remit funds in real time thanks to the launch of a mobile-to-account transfer system. Launched in collaboration with Global Money Express, the facility allows for funds to be transferred with lower charges and a higher exchange rate than through a conventional fund transfer. The product has broad reach as there are an estimated 30,000 Sri Lankans working in South Korea. 

Recognising the boom in mobile payments seen across Asia, the bank has launched collaborations with both AliPay and WeChat Pay to enable QR code payments. With a rising number of Chinese tourists and immigrant workers in Sri Lanka, the system will provide them with a familiar method of payment. CBC has also started to accept UnionPay cards through its point-of-sale machines in stores. 

S Renganathan, managing director and chief executive officer at CBC, says: “Our commitment to quality, ethical and sustainable business practices – together with a focused strategic vision with cutting-edge technology, delivering customised banking solutions that improves the financial wellbeing of our customers, coupled with a highly motivated, skilled team and a loyal customer base – has been our key to success in our operations.” 

CBC affirmed its focus on customer security as it became the first bank in Sri Lanka to be given the Payment Card Data Security Standard for its credit card payments.  

Taiwan, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank 

Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (TFCB) took a data-driven decision-making approach in 2018, a move that saw the bank making interesting choices as it expanded its reach. 

It launched the Beyond 3D project to draw the value out of its big data, with the key goals being to have richer data through combining external and internal data, but with de-identification technology to protect the customer’s identity. Next was smarter technology, using natural language processing as part of the learning model to replace traditional methods of analysis. Third came clearer visualisation, with the most frequently demanded data extracted and designed as an application programming interface for easy integration. 

Since launch, Beyond 3D has created more than T$100m ($3.3m) in revenues. This was achieved by better customer service, which boosted revenue, and the discovery of thousands of new business customers uncovered through payment behaviour analysis. 

TFCB took the innovative approach of teaming up with messaging app Line to expand its reach across Taiwan. By joining forces, the bank has access to the 21 million subscribed Line users, the largest social media platform in the country. It worked with Line on introducing Line Pay and launching Line Bank, one of just three digital-only banks that were given regulatory approval by Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission during 2019. TFCB sees the tie-up as a way to integrate financial services with people’s daily lives. 

High-net-worth customers received additional support through the creation of the Fu Yu Heng Chuan model. Tailored services are provided to selected customers, with the aim of the bank becoming a life partner for these individuals. In addition to banking services, these customers are invited to attend exclusive activities hosted by the bank to learn about the banking issues that may impact them and their families.  

Tajikstan, OJSC Commerce Bank of Tajikistan

OJSC Commerce Bank of Tajikistan (CBT) has focused its attention on delivering the best digital banking experience for its customers, developing an innovative app that helped seal its win in the Bank of the Year awards. 

CBT’s digital mobile banking application Favri is available to both individuals and companies, and allows them to transfer funds, repay loans and pay utility bills. Meanwhile, the e-commerce section of the app enables users to pay for goods and services in a range of shops, restaurants and theatres. Transfers are completed instantly, once confirmed by the user. 

Favri also uses the full range of mobile technology, such as geolocations to provide addresses for the nearest branches and banking service centres. The app also has built-in QR code facilities that allow users to make smart transfers of funds, and to pay for goods and services. 

For CBT’s corporate customers, other features are available through Favri. As well as being able to check account balances and manage their credit, the app allows the creation of payment orders and also has capabilities to initiate billing. It can also be used to develop marketing and advertising programmes, such as creating loyalty programmes, developing promotions and announcing discounts or the start of sales.  

The bank has worked to ensure the highest quality service for all its customers by giving as many as possible access to a physical location. CBT has six branches and 21 banking service centres across Tajikistan, with plans for an additional three branches and 20 service centres by the end of 2019. 

Thailand, Bangkok Bank 

Strengthening international ties to support the development of businesses has brought Bangkok Bank success in the Bank of the Year awards. Bangkok Bank has an international network covering 15 countries, and runs collaborative operations between them. 

To better support its business customers across Asia, the bank has developed functionality to allow same-day transfer of funds. The Asia Same Day Transfer Service permits customers to move funds in Thai baht or US dollars to branches in other Asian countries, while import and export businesses are supported with the Asia Trade Express service, which saw Thai baht and US dollar transactions implemented for the first time in 2018. 

Trade finance was given a boost in early 2019 when the Bangkok Bank conducted its first blockchain trade finance transaction between Thailand and Indonesia. An electronic letter of credit was transferred using the R3 Corda Enterprise Blockchain. This significantly reduced the amount of paperwork needed, and the transaction time for a letter of credit was reduced from 10 days to 24 hours. 

Chartsiri Sophonpanich, president at Bangkok Bank, says: “We develop long-term supportive relationships with customers and continuously work to enhance customer experience by improving operational efficiency and providing seamless integration between our offline and online channels. We are also improving connectivity and collaboration between our domestic and international operations to create value for their business.” 

Bangkok Bank extended its support for innovation with the successful completion of its second InnoHub, launched in March 2019. During the 12-week programme, start-ups were given the opportunity to test and run pilots, and meet with potential investors. By the end, all eight participants had demonstrated a real use case for their ideas within the bank, and were in the process of development from the pilot stage to the scoping stage.  

Uzbekistan, Asia Alliance Bank 

Making a bank as good as possible means not just offering the highest standard of service to its customers, but also ensuring it has strong operations and finances. Asia Alliance Bank (AAB) has taken decisive steps to achieve these goals. 

The bank became one of the first financial institutions in Uzbekistan to issue a bond. In June 2019, it released a UZS50bn ($5.3m) bond following changes to government regulations. Issuing the bond has opened up the services the bank can offer, including larger credit lines and finance facilities, while enabling it to step into the investment banking space for the first time. 

In order to get better control of its IT and strategy planning, AAB introduced the Oracle Business Intelligence database system. With better oversight of its analytics, security and performance, the bank has achieved its goal of building corporate reporting systems and giving users from different departments the ability to customise reporting forms. This has improved the overall standard of reporting and provided greater insights. 

Crucially, AAB has also worked on developing its customer relationships. In order to attract and retain more corporate business, the bank has developed a new client policy, which involved a new client segmentation policy and systems for building better quality client relationships. These include letters of credit and trade finance facilities, and payroll and corporate cards. Corporate clients can conduct their business via internet, mobile and SMS banking. 

For retail customers, the bank has devised a multi-channel customer service system. With this in place, AAB hopes to improve cross-selling and expand its retail product offering, providing customers with mobile banking and foreign currency services. 

Vietnam, Asia Commercial Bank 

Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) has undertaken a wide-ranging scheme to overhaul its internal banking processes to prepare for banking in the future. Primarily, the bank overhauled its operational efficiency through automation. To keep better controls on outstanding customer debts, ACB rolled out a debt management system project. The system tracks the progress of a loan, and can put loans into different categories, such as overdue debts and bad debts, as they develop. This can help the bank to focus on these overdue debts and settle them in a timely manner. 

Customers have benefited from greater automation as the bank introduced a customer relationship management system, which enables the bank to manage customer information and the sales process effectively, while ensuring a high standard of customer service. Mobile banking has been improved with a modernised app developed through open source technology. A greater emphasis has been placed on the display of functions to make using the app more convenient. 

Do Minh Toan, CEO at Asia Commercial Bank, says: “With a strong strategic vision as a leading bank in Vietnam, ACB targets strong financial results, risk management and business ethics; aims to be a pioneer in delivering products and services that meet the needs of customers in their life cycles; and invests in the development of its human resources.” 

The bank’s influence has extended beyond finance by backing the ‘I Love the Journey of My Life’ education programme. Covering primary school pupils to university students, the bank provides support in the form of financial scholarships and educational equipment. 

ACB has also given a boost to the environment by deciding to go paperless. This has been achieved with the adoption of a digital document signing service, which removes the need for paper documentation. There were 11,000 documents being signed this way in the first four months of use. 

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