Presently, MAS is working with six major commercial banks – DBS, OCBC, UOB, SCB, Citibank and HSBC on the Cosmic platform. Said to be one of a kind platform in the world, it will enable information to be shared in a structured format that allows for seamless integration with data analytics tools.

Additionally, the bank will also run Cosmic and is promising legislation to ensure information sharing will only be allowed for fighting money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. The six banks will continue to co-develop the platform with MAS and will be the initial users when it is rolled out in 2023 along with a framework to govern information sharing.

The platform will initially focus on three key financial crime risks in commercial banking: abuse of shell companies, misuse of trade finance for illicit purposes, and proliferation financing. Eventually, MAS plans to extend Cosmic’s coverage to more financial institutions and plans on making some areas of sharing compulsory.

Loo Siew Yee, assistant MD, MAS, told the media, “Cosmic will significantly enhance our financial institutions’ ability to detect and curb suspicious activity while minimising the impact on legitimate actors. The information-sharing framework is designed to target serious criminal behaviours and allow FIs to more quickly detect the bad actors to purge and deter them.”

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People can borrow the amount without any collateral and the financial institution promises to give applicants the loan approval within 60 seconds. The company also mentioned that it is the only bank in the country that offers instant loan approval for unsecured personal loans.

While multiple other banks have invaded the country’s digital banking space, Bank CTBC Indonesia has announced that they will be offering a lending product first. As mentioned by one of the representatives, the bank realised how it stands as a small bank in the vast sector and has to act accordingly.

Ryan Koesuma, the head of the company, told the media, “Every other digital bank is launching a super app that promises to provide every banking and non-banking product they can think of. But that’s an arduous task, and loans are probably lower down the stack. That’s why we try to cut to the chase and stay nimble.”

Apart from approving the personal loan within 60 seconds, the company will also be developing the know your customer (KYC) process that won’t require face-to-face interaction or a video callback.

When the bank was initially in its trial phase, it had received around 20,000 loan applications in a matter of four months. The bank’s executive director for retail banking says that its target is to increase its total unsecured personal loan business in the next five years by 50 percent.

According to the data revealed by Indonesia’s financial service authority OJK, there was an increased application in the number of cash loan applications in 2020 that reached around Rp74.71 trillion.

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UnionBank was among the first in the country to waive its online fund transfer fees and deploy Bank on Wheels to bring its branches to the customers’ doorstep. UnionBank president and CEO Edwin Bautista said, “I would like to also thank our very hardworking and selfless UnionBankers—frontliners—and all those who have been doing their utmost during this pandemic to deliver safe, consistent and full-service digital banking to our customers.”

A fintech spinoff has proved effective this year
For UBX, which is the fintech spinoff of UnionBank, has facilitated the release of cash subsidies through the deployment of mobile automated teller machines (ATMs) to its rural bank partners and financial cooperatives where beneficiaries of the government’s Social Amelioration Programme can easily withdraw their money. UBX has also started to link its rural bank members to its new network which includes Cebuana Lhuillier, LBC, Palawan Express and PeraHub. This enables customers of these rural banks to send funds and payments to over 11,000 branches of the four remittance centres around the Philippines.

Since the beginning of lockdown, UnionBank has rolled out more cash-out options through 11,000 remittance counters across the Philippines, including in rural areas where most of the unbanked and underserved population are residing. Because digital banks have become the crux of modern banking, UBX is building platforms digitally and financially underserved communities, while aggregating and visualising financial services to embed into other platforms. With that, UnionBank has become the first Philippine bank to launch the largest cash-out network in the country—a critical step to significantly improve access to financial services for communities amid the pandemic.

Bautista said “It warms our hearts to know that our customers recognise and value our heroic efforts during this crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world an unprecedented disruption, but with each of us doing our share, we will weather this challenge— no matter how massive it can be.”

A wholesome approach to remote work
In 2016, UnionBank had started preparing for disruption through digital transformation. At the time, “we anticipated that customer behaviour and needs would drastically change due to the rapid acceptance of mobile digital technology,” Bautista said. At present, this digital strategy—which included creating a new technology-enabled and agile UnionBank organisation—that paved the way for the bank to continue to do business as usual, despite the pandemic.

It is notable that the bank continued smooth operations even during remote work for various reasons. First: Its systems and applications were available on cloud or could be managed offsite. Second: The connectivity and meeting tools were readily available to employees, allowing them to carry out remote work and ensure productivity. Third: Branch operations and transactions were monitored remotely in the bank’s Business Operations Centre, while retaining the branch service hours. Fourth: ATM availability and cash levels were constantly monitored through remote dashboards to ensure that they are up and running and have sufficient cash at all hours. Fifth: Cybersecurity measures were well implemented and beefed up especially during ECQ when digital transactions were most active.

Against this backdrop, UnionBank will continue to focus on growing its retail client base through digital channels and leverage on a fully-digital loan engine with alternative credit scoring capabilities to extend credit to platform users. The bank will also proceed with ventures in innovation and launch multiple startups catering to retail and SME segments. In addition, investments are made in an effort to enhance UnionBank’s online banking platforms and ensure that best online banking experience is provided to retail, SME and corporate customers. The platforms include i2i which connects rural banks to the country’s main financial network; Sentro, an online B2B marketplace for SME ecosystem; BUX, a payment logistics fulfilment platform; and Seekcap that is aimed at offering affordable financing options for SMEs.

In the big picture, UnionBank has reported a dramatic surge in online banking transactions, despite all limitations. Bautista said “To say that the global pandemic is testing our mettle would be an understatement. With a challenge as massive as Covid-19, technology is only an instrument and not an answer by itself. Ultimately, it is our UnionBank DNA that is pulling us through. We remain steadfast in our commitment to ‘Tech Up, Pilipinas’ and enable inclusive prosperity to fuel sustainable growth, making sure that no one gets left behind.”

The post How has 2020 panned out for UnionBank? appeared first on International Finance.

Also, through the partnership between Standard Chartered and Bukalapak, they are also looking to improve financial inclusion in Indonesia as Bukalapak is said to have extensive coverage to 100 million users and 13.5 million merchants.

With regard to the partnership with Standard Chartered, Rachmat Kaimuddin, chief executive officer at Bukalapak told the media, “Our strategic partnership shows the trust and confidence from Standard Chartered on Bukalapak’s mission and commitment to create impact across Indonesia. Commerce and financial services are crucial aspects of the well-being of society, thus, the partnership increases our spirit to create a fair economy in Indonesia.

“With a strong global banking network and prestigious financial service business, Standard Chartered participation in Bukalapak will further strengthen our current strong group of shareholders and strategic partners.”

Even though the pandemic has battered the global economy and has restricted economic activities all over the world, in some countries, it has resulted in increasing online activities and Indonesia is one such country. Amid the pandemic, online activities have risen in the country and more and more Indonesian now prefer not only to buy a product online, but also to pay for it online as well. Standard Chartered and Bukalapak want to capitalise on the growing demand for financial tools in Indonesia.

The post StanChart and Bukalapak to launch digital banking services appeared first on International Finance.

Both parties will collaborate and accept international payments from South Korea to Thailand via Sentbe, which is a major South Korean payment services firm and also one of Lightnet’s business partners.

Srihanath Lamsam, Management Executive Vice President for SCB Payment Product Solutions told the media, “At present, demand for international payments, especially outgoing and incoming remittances, has [been growing.]  Banks have continuously embraced cutting-edge technology as a core for developing new capabilities for financial products and services. These efforts also include expanding business partners at both the global and regional levels to increase capabilities and scopes of services, while ensuring that all customer groups, both Thai and foreign, have full access to financial services.”

Recently, Lightnet Lightnet closed a $31.2 million Series A investment round led by investors such as UOB Venture Management, Seven Bank, Uni-President Asset Holding, Hashkey Capital, Hopeshine Ventures, Signum Capital, DU Capital, and Hanwha Investment and Security.

Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Lightnet Group Vice Chairman and Group CEO told the media,“Our goal is to serve as a new payment center for efficient, secure, low-cost, and speedy financial services, taking advantage of [Stellar’s] blockchain technology…. The system is an effective innovation for decentralised data storage centers that will transform digital payment models in the future.”

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The new service launched by RHB Banking Group is called RHB Live FX @Reflex.

The bank offers foreign exchange rates that can be executed in real-time and facilitates seamless end-to-end processing of spot and forward transactions.

With regard to the launch of the new digital foreign exchange services, RHB Banking Group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli told the media, “RHB Live FX @ Reflex capitalises on technological transformation to deliver a customer-centric service targeted at seamless online distribution and processing of FX products and services to provide our customers with greater value and convenience.

“Through this versatile platform, our corporate and SME customers can actively manage their foreign currency exposure by accessing real time foreign currency rates to monitor, book and execute FX transactions online. RHB Live FX @ Reflex was developed to serve customers more efficiently and conveniently, and is projected to grow our foreign exchange volume by 20 percent by 2022,” he added.

Earlier this week, RHB Banking Group appointed Wong Kee Poh as its chief executive officer for its Cambodia unit and Piyanat Aranyakasemsuke as its CEO for its Thailand unit, both effective September 1, 2020.

The bank’s net profit fell by 34.9 percent to RM400.77 million in the second quarter of this year. The drop in net profit is attributed to the one-off net modification loss of around RM392.4 million.

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Reports further suggest that Standard Chartered will hold a majority share in the new digital banking venture. The remaining shares will be held by NTUC Enterprise, a division of the National Trades Union Congress that also runs a chain of more than 100 supermarket outlets across Singapore.

Standard Chartered obtained a digital-only bank licence in Hong Kong last year, media reports said. Even though it is not fully operational yet, Standard Chartered revealed that it will be launched very soon. The venture will be known as Mox Bank.

The UK-based bank is gearing up to increase its presence in the region to compete with the likes of DBS Bank and Grab.

Earlier this year, The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that it has shortlisted 14 applicants out of 21 for granting digital banking licence in the country, the media reported.

The 14 applicants shortlisted comprises five digital full bank applicants and nine digital wholesale bank applicants.

Reportedly, the selected applicants will be invited to present their proposals through virtual meetings, where they will be further screened.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is expected to award two digital full bank licences and three digital wholesale bank licences by the end of this year.

Recently,  Standard Chartered successfully conducted its first blockchain trade transaction in Bangladesh, according to Newage.

The bank issued a Letter of Credit for the trade between garment exporter Viyellatex Ltd and Viyellatex Spinning on the Contour blockchain network.

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Citi Malaysia chief executive officer Lee Lung Nien will take on a bigger role as the chairman of Citi Private bank Southeast Asia.

Lee Lung Nien will operate from Singapore and he will take over his new role from September 1^st.

He will report to Steven Lo, Asia Pacific regional head of Citi Private Bank and Amol Gupte, ASEAN head and country officer for Singapore.

With regard to the appointment of Lee Lung Nien, Steven Lo told the media, “Our franchise in South Asia is critical to the success of our business in the region and globally, and the appointment of Lung speaks to that.”

“The investments we have made here over the past few years have allowed us to focus more closely on serving the unique markets within the region while providing clients with access to the full breadth of our global platform,” he added.

Earlier this year, Citibank announced that it plans to double its wealth management business in Singapore in terms of the number of customers and market share by 2025.

Citibank also launched a new flagship wealth management center in a prime location in Singapore. Spanning over 30,000 square feet, the wealth management center will occupy four floors including two floors for 400 relationship managers and specialists as well as two floors for client meetings and events.

Reportedly, Citibank also plans to develop another wealth management center in Singapore as a part of its plan to double its wealth management business in the country.

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The Memorandum of understanding will see both ABDC and Tencent jointly collaborating on cloud-based financial services and innovations towards a data-driven digital bank.

Both parties signed the agreement in a virtual conference which was attended by Elong Huang, General Manager of Tencent Cloud Southeast Asia Region; Carlos Hu, General Manager of Tencent Finance Cloud; and Dr. Li Shan, Chairman of ADBC.

ADBC will leverage Tencent’s cloud technology to provide the best in class digital banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Singapore.

Nelson Goh, Board Director of Asia Digital Bank Corporation told the media, “We are grateful to be given the chance to explore with Tencent Cloud in utilizing its OSPAR-attested cloud services in building our vision for innovative digital banking operations in Singapore. ADBC believes in delivering contextualised personal experiences to its customers. To achieve this level of digital journey and customer-centricity, we need to automate the thousands of processes that underpin the customer journey. Doing this via cloud-based technology will result in an end-to-end, frictionless, and seamless process that connects internal core banking and legacy systems, complementary products, and cognitive system providers.”

“ADBC is committed to providing best-in-class digital banking services to its small- and medium-sized enterprise clients once it is successfully granted the wholesale banking license in Singapore. More importantly, ADBC aims to be an empathic digital bank that exceeds customer expectations. Our proposed collaboration will undoubtedly help us achieve our goal of serving SMEs in the country, focusing on inclusive and green finance and creating a regional flagship, Singapore-based digital bank” he added.

The post ADBC signs MoU with Tencent to leverage its cloud technology appeared first on International Finance.

The central bank also reduced the interest rate on 7-day reverse repurchase agreements to 2.2 percent from 2.4 percent.

The decision to pump money into the banking sector and cut interest rates is being taken by China to help the economy deal with the coronavirus crisis. It also follows the Communist Party’s promise to increase support to the economy through increased sales of sovereign debt, as domestic and international demand slumps due to the pandemic.

Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics said the interest rate cut was the largest since 2015.

He told the media,” “By offering funds at a lower rate, the People’s Bank of China will be able to keep market interbank rates low even as the liquidity from the RRR (reserve requirement ratio) cuts is absorbed by the banking system.”

Earlier this month, the central bank cut the cash that banks must hold as reserves for the second time this year, releasing $79 billion to help the economy fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The central bank also asked lenders in the country to lend more to small businesses under its inclusive financing push and has urged lenders to extend cheap loans and tolerate late payments from companies hit by the health crisis.

The novel coronavirus was first discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year. Since then, the deadly pathogen has spread throughout the globe and has brought the global economy to a standstill. So far, the virus has claimed around 25,000 lives worldwide.

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