Harnessing data and collaborative engagement to propel institutions forward

The Asian Banker Future of Finance Summit 2019 commenced with a thought-provoking discussion around a future defined by the ongoing rapid change in technology, on the verge of 5.0. The session highlighted that the financial industry is moving towards a collaborative and shared economy where value will be created outside the institution. The discussion brought out the need for a greater shift towards open platform and partnerships. 

Opening Keynote Speaker and Co-Founder of Wikipedia, @Jimmy Wales opined that although the ideas behind the development of distributed ledger technology were notable, the industry has yet to witness its valid use case. Board Advisor for The Thai Bankers’ Association, @Chartsiri Sophonpanich talked about how #Bank of Thailand is accelerating innovation through regulatory sandbox focused on biometrics-based e-KYC, machine learning-based alternate credit scoring and blockchain.

The session on Leadership in the Digital Age pointed the need to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence (AI), challenging the order of the past. There is a now a greater need to integrate and monetise data, however breaking down of internal silos remained a key challenge for banks.  As the industry explores greater application of AI, it was argued that machine vision was proving to be better than human. 

Panellists at the Global Transactions Finance Re-invented session debated ways to remain relevant in the business of supply chain and trade financing. There was a greater impetus to integrate multiple ecosystems to drive harmonisation across regulation and technology. In another session, panellists pointed the requirement of an alternative industry solution to solve the existing inefficiencies in instant cross-border payments.

The Future of Finance Summit gathered over 600 executives from the industry for intense discussions on the key developments in the financial services. This year’s convention took place in Bangkok, Thailand, one of the emerging innovative economies of ASEAN.