Senior executives and heads of financial institutions (FIs) shared their perspective on how composable design enables FIs to better address the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). They also highlighted the opportunities and challenges of a composable design.

At the discussion were Aswin Phlaphongphanich, chief executive officer of DeeMoney; Edu Trinidad, principal business development manager of UBX, Frankie Wai, business solutions director of Temenos; Prashant Chauhan, associate vice-president of Tata Capital; Ros Sokha, senior adviser for digital financial service, banking operation and technology of SBI Ly Hour Bank; and Srinivasan Shanmuganathan, executive director-enterprise API ecosystem and marketplace of Standard Chartered.

The discussion posited that the future was going to be built around composable designs through interconnected components of microservices that can be assembled and reassembled quickly to go live. The speakers observed that traditional banks must evolve to compete with new market entries amid technological disruption and regulatory changes. To serve smaller-sized MSMEs better, a game-changer in distribution and infrastructure is needed.

Wai pointed out that new players keep raising the bar for customer experience—whenever there is a new positive experience regardless of industry, customers expect the same standards. Sokha noted that most incumbents only look at the top SMEs, which leaves MSMEs behind.

Aswin said that the pandemic highlighted pain points on the payments side where MSMEs were unable to reach their banks for remitting fund transfers within and across borders. They were also facing huge foreign exchanges volatility, which impacted cash flow and liquidity.

Trinidad commented that embedded finance provides quick and specific solutions directly to customers.

Shanmuganathan noted that infrastructure is more about accessibility and not about technology, and that for small businesses, gaining access and speed-to-market is critical. He also said that application programming interface (API) connectivity and fintech collaboration are the building blocks of a self-service model for MSMEs to empower them to choose the services they need.

As far as open banking is concerned, he said that the biggest challenge is that there are many regulatory market restrictions—including how to utilise data—that have not yet been addressed.

To create service and product flexibility at the front end, Prashant shared that for agile capabilities, there needs to be a layer on top of legacy systems, an open network of APIs for various functions. However, he added, in order for this to work, the organisation’s policies and digital mindset also has to shift.

The future has no brand loyalty but only service loyalty; FIs that provide the best service in the cheapest possible way and in the shortest length of time will win the race.

Key discussion points:

• Greater accessibility to building a platform where services and products come together, having everything in one place
• New levels of collaboration between banks and fintechs outside the traditional boundaries of banking
• Creating more agile and flexible MSME business via open banking and API infrastructure is more about access and distribution than technology
• Strong standard protocols are needed to partner with any fintech company
• Utilising composable design allows FIs to bundle and cross-sell working capital with other add-on services such as insurance or other loan types such as vehicle loans

Guests include:

Srinivasan Shanmuganathan

Executive Director-Head API Ecosystem & Marketplace (Enterprise Technology),
Standard Chartered.

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Aswin Phlaphongphanich

CEO, DeeMoney

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Ros Sokha

Digital Transformation Executive
SBI Ly Hour Bank

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Edu Trinidad

Product Owner,
Banking Services, UBX

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Prashant Chauhan

Head Customer Onboarding ,
Supply Chain and MSME Digital Lending - Implementation Tata Capital

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Frankie Wai

Business Solution Director APAC, Temenos

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Michael Christopher C. Cruz

Vice President, Usage and Strategic Businesses Head, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)

Michael Cruz is the vice president for Usage and Strategic Businesses of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), reporting under the Digital Enterprise and Innovations Group. He previously served as special assistant to RCBC president Eugene Acevedo from 2019 to 2022.

In his role, Cruz works to advance and communicate the president’s agenda by spearheading new initiatives, organising cross functional projects, and enforcing plans and performance standards to advance the bank’s transformation. In 2022, he became one of the youngest vice presidents in RCBC’s history at 29.

Cruz started as a management trainee at the Union Bank of the Philippines in 2013. He served in a senior corporate planning role for UnionBank’s subsidiary City Savings Bank, executing merger and acquisitions (M&A) deals and performing business development aimed at diversifying the bank’s loan portfolio.

 

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Frankie Wai

Business Solution Director APAC, Temenos

Frankie Wai is the business solution director for Asia Pacific in Temenos, one of the leading banking software companies globally. As a solution-oriented person with strategic thinking and strong interpersonal skills, he defines the region's solution strategy, advises the bank on technologically advanced solutions, and executes decisions to facilitate organisational growth.

Wai has been actively investigating emerging technologies and formulating software solutions that help banks deliver innovative banking services. He developed the brand-new digital banking architecture for first batch of the virtual bank in Hong Kong. He continues constructing the solution for subsequent digital bank licences across the Asia Pacific region.

Wai discusses in seminars how technology enables banks to transform, including virtual banking, open banking, cloud computing, and buy now, pay later (BNPL). He co-authored the articles Virtual Banks will Compel Hong Kong to Embrace the Mobile Banking Era and Open Banking in Taiwan.

 

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Kaiwan Turel

Head of Payment Advisory, Global Payments Solutions, HSBC Asia Pacific

Kaiwan heads the Payment Advisory function of HSBC’s Global Payments and Cash Management business in Asia Pacific. His key responsibilities include providing innovative solutions and addressing HSBC’s corporate and institutional customers’ cash management needs. Kaiwan is passionate about emerging technologies within the payments area and leveraging their capabilities to create unique customer journeys as well as aim to drive meaningful change in the industry to positively impact communities. Kaiwan has 18 years of international transaction banking experience having worked in India, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. He served in senior roles including sales and client management across wealth, cash, core trade, and supply chain businesses.

 

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Christian Kapfer

Research Director, The Asian Banker

Christian Kapfer is research director at The Asian Banker, leading research and consulting engagement with top-tier financial institutions in benchmarking business and strategic capabilities across leadership, commercial, retail and transaction finance, financial markets, risk management, financial technology, and wealth management. Kapfer joined The Asian Banker in 2014 and was responsible for starting many of the company's research programmes, such as Excellence in Retail Financial Services, AB 500 Strongest Banks Ranking and Working Groups.

 

Session Host:

Christian Kapfer

Research Director,
The Asian Banker

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About The Asian Banker RadioFinance:

The Asian Banker RadioFinance aims to enhance understanding of the finance industry globally by bringing together thought leaders, industry experts, practitioners and futurists to examine current, critical issues through discussions facilitated by visual and web-based platforms. Through the use of interactive technology, participants do not have to take time out from their busy schedules or leave the comfort of their own desks.