RO U N DTA B L E // DI G I TA L
BIREN KUNDALIA, AIG: For me, it is the simplification of the customer experience. You do not want payment processing and transactions to be complex. The use of newer technologies such as biometrics, for example, could definitely help with authentication. Apple’s entry into the whole payment market will be an interesting area to follow.
CYNTHIA LIAW, MAYBANK: There are some things that we must do such as streamlining processes and providing instant transfers and approvals. Of course, there are also a lot of nice-to-have things that we are watching because digitisation is an expensive affair. You have to be right the first time. We are watching all the leaders and learning what they are doing and looking at their successful and commercially-viable projects and initiatives.
“... there are also a lot of nice-to-have things that we are watching because digitisation is an expensive affair. You have to be right the first time.”
different segments of people. Whether they are upperhigh income or middle class, their wants and needs are more alike than not and it is increasingly becoming homogenous. The challenge is to not overlook the idiosyncrasies of an individual market.
– CYNTHIA LIAW, MAYBANK
DAVID BACKLEY, DBS BANK: It is very similar to the discussion about how in-country payment systems are different. Some regulations and languages are different but a savings account is a savings account, interest rates are interest rates unless it is Islamic banking. It is key to look at what the regulations are in your local markets. In Singapore, the ‘two-factor’ authentication is required for internet banking, which helps to provide a more secure online banking environment. We have to get the balance between security and customer convenience right. LUKE MCCORMACK, PEGASYSTEMS: In the next 12 months, what will be your top two or three digital imperatives? DOINA PALICI-CHEHAB, AXA: That is a question
that keeps me up at night: “How do I manage this business without becoming a dinosaur? How do I manage it well with all the constraints and differences in the local market? How quickly can I know my customer? How quickly can I define the ‘moments-of-truth’ or have control of [customer] interactions?” Today we interact with clients but without control. Once we know what our clients want, how do we move quicker towards a simple solution which will help us to be ahead of the big mass of dinosaurs?
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W HO ’S WHO OF FS I
CHERDCHAI VIRABHAK, AIG: What keeps me up at night is [disintermediation] and the likes of Google and other aggregators coming up on the curve index – that is a challenge for financial institutions. The other challenge is making the business case work for something that is turnkey/innovative in the digital domain. Because all of us are in the financial industry, we tend to be led by a traditional cost-benefit analysis model. I think the question then for our financial institutions is a philosophical one: “How do we ensure we stay ahead of the game?” PRANAV SETH, OCBC BANK: If we continue to make investments in the traditional manner and in the traditional cycles of investments, I will seriously think of rebranding my department from ‘business transformation’ to ‘business-as-usual’. We are all struggling with traditional cycles of investment and the heavy cost of going fully digital. We cannot achieve the full results of our digital ambitions if we continue to operate that way. The traditional structures and the way the analysts value us will hamper us from realising our aspirations. There is a need to look at alternate approaches to tackle this – whether it is setting up a different entity within the longer term payback horizon or leveraging ecosystem partners.
MATTHIAS DE FERRIERES, AXA: There are many opportunities for us to change our mindset and focus on ROI. We believe digital is expensive. There have been solutions that are not that expensive. We should test it. The opportunity that digital gives us is in creating emotions and designing using common sense. When it comes to the customer journey, the best apps are made based on ‘feelings’ for a true purchasing customer