Retail banking is a way for individual consumers to manage their money, have access to credit, and deposit their money in a secure manner. Services offered by retail banks include day to day transactions, withdrawals, deposits, account management and more.
Thanks to digital banking, retail banks now have the ability to conduct business with their customers through online or digital channels around the clock. Digital Retail Banking (DRB) is the digitization of traditional Retail Banking products, processes and activities, previously only available through physical bank branches.
Retail Banking in Asia Pacific
Senior Vice President at INFOPRO, Chan Liang Yew said that banks across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region are leveraging digital technologies to put customers at the centre of their innovation strategies and create personalized banking experiences.
“Banks are focusing on supporting ambitious strategies from achieving international growth to increasing financial literacy and reaching remote and unbanked sectors of the population,” said Liang Yew.
The Strategic Action Plans (SAPs) of the ASEAN Financial Integration 2016-2025 has encouraged the rise of Fintech in ASEAN, making financial services more competitive than ever. The SAP promotes financial integration, inclusion and stability within the region. One of the key objectives is to advance innovative financial inclusion via digital platforms.
ASEAN is home to over 670 million inhabitants, with more than half are between 20-54 years of age. This factor, combined with high internet penetration rate and ever-growing middle class, is driving the adoption of digital banking services across the ASEAN markets.
Liang Yew explains that massive growths of the tech-savvy customers are spurring the demands for seamless digital banking experience. This new generation of consumers expect a high level of personalization which are convenient, fast, and tailored to their specific needs. Many banks struggle to meet these demands with their existing technology.
“This increases the urgent need for digital transformation in the banking sector. If banks are to emerge from the different digital banking challenges in today’s fintech era, they must embrace these disruptive technologies, reinvent or move away from traditional methods,” he adds.
Managing Strategic Priorities
Liang Yew stresses on the importance for banks to optimize digital experience by adopting AI and Big Data Analytics. These are among important strategies to dealing with today’s challenges. AI is now vastly used in finance to predict customer preferences, conduct risk assessments and predictive analytics to detect specific patterns and correlations in the data. However, many financial institutions still struggle to adopt AI because they lack a clear strategy.
“Today’s customers are openly embracing digital banking and banks without a digital presence will gradually be phased out. Consumers require trusted, relevant and personalized interactions with their FIs,” he explains.
Liang Yew mentions that the global Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the need for FIs to prioritize mobile and non-traditional delivery methods, such as eKYC, interactive banking, end-to-end paperless application processing, analytics and understanding customer spending behavior through AI.
“Many banking systems have been around for over forty to fifty years and legacy systems are in dire need of upgrade as they are simply not designed for today’s connected digital environment,” he adds.
Dual-Core Model Solution
Liang Yew encourages banks to adopt a dual-core model. Digital solutions and innovative technologies can be implemented in a new and modern cloud-based digital core banking platform.
He says; “With this approach, existing legacy institutions can offer new products or services to customers, new digital channels to reach out and service customers, and take a calculated, progressive plan to sunset the old legacy system, with minimal impact to the existing banking operations and customers.”
INFOPRO’s SYNERGi AI-driven Digital Banking platform is less risky and enables legacy institutions to move into digital track faster. SYNERGi is a new generation of Digital Banking solutions designed based on today’s mainstream technologies, combined with AI and data analytics technologies.
It consists of more than fifty modules, including a flexible core banking platform, smarter risk management and compliance systems, customer-centric mobile apps and web solutions, coupled with a set of APIs, AI-driven data Analytics and Automation tools.
“Its modular and flexible architecture allows banks to implement their digital banking roadmap in phases according to their priorities and budget,” adds Liang Yew.
For more information about INFOPRO’s SYNERGi AI-driven Digital Banking, visit www.infopro.com.my/digital-banking. You can also watch the interview with Chan Liang Yew on INFOPRO’s YouTube channel here.