RadioFinance

Inclusive innovation in central banking can enhance monetary and financial stability, according to Daniel Eidan speaking at the Excellence in Retail Financial Services Convention 2023. Eidan is the advisor and solution architect of Bank for International Settlements – BIS.

Dusan Stojanovic, founder of True Global Ventures, talked about how the recent banking crises in the US and Europe, points to a shift towards decentralised assets and platforms.

Senior executives and heads discussed how banks and financial institutions redefine business models to be more inclusive, innovative, and resilient to volatile market conditions for SMEs. They also highlighted the opportunities and challenges of utilizing a composable design to succeed in the market. Aswin phlaphongphanich of DeeMoney, Edu Trinidad of UBX, Frankie Wai of Temenos, Prashant Chauhan of Tata Capital, Sokha ROS of SBI LY HOUR Bank, and Srinivasan Shanmuganathan ( Shan ) of Standard Chartered shared their perspective on how can the composable design enable financial institutions to better address the needs of SMEs. Composable designs through interconnected components of microservices which can be assembled and reassembled quickly to go live fast are going to be the future. They also discussed how traditional banks have to evolve to compete with new market entries amid technological disruption and regulatory changes. To serve smaller-sized MSMEs a change of the game is needed in distribution and infrastructure. Wai discussed 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 pointed out that most incumbents only look at the top SMEs which leaves MSMEs behind. Aswin revealed that the pandemic brought to the fore pain points on the payments side where MSMEs were unable to reach their banks for remitting fund transfers within and across borders, and were facing huge forex volatility impacting the cash flow and liquidity of MSMEs. Trinidad commented that embedded finance allows the ability to provide quick and specific solutions right to the customers. Shanmuganathan noted that infrastructure is more about accessibility not about technology enablement and how to gain access and speed to market that is critical. API connectivity and fintech collaboration are critical in building a self-service model for MSMEs to empower them to pick and choose what they need. He also highlighted that the biggest challenge with open banking is that there are many regulatory market restrictions, including how to utilize data that have not yet been addressed. To create service and product flexibility at the front end, Prashant shared that for agile capabilities one needs to build a layer on top of legacy systems, an open network of APIs for various functions. But to succeed in this, the most important part is to change the process, the policies and the digital mindset of the company accordingly. In the future, there is no brand loyalty only service loyalty and those FIs that serve the best and provide the best rates in the shortest time will win the race Key discussion points: How can the composable banking approach address the needs of SMEs and promote financial inclusion? How can traditional banks evolve to compete with challenger banks amid technological disruption and regulatory changes in digital payments and lending? How do organisations build and redefine business models to be more inclusive and resilient to volatile market conditions? How organisations are balancing corporate responsibility and profitability to achieve greater stakeholder satisfaction and engagement?

Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council (USCBC) discussed with The Asian Banker's Emmanuel Daniel the impact of the US-China trade tensions on foreign companies doing business in China, and anywhere in the world.

In this RadioFinance session, we will discuss the 2023 outlook for the banking industry of the Asia Pacific region, the dominant trends and challenges to watch, and the direct effect of inflationary pressures on the different markets in the region.

In this RadioFinance session, we will discuss how deploying distributed cloud technologies at the edge of the network is redefining data agility for real-time insights. It will also highlight challenges and opportunities of utilising edge solutions to digitally transform the financial services industry at scale.

Senior executives and heads of digital banks across Asia Pacific discussed how open banking frameworks and secured APIs can scale up financial services offerings. The dialogue also highlighted challenges and opportunities of utilising cloud-based solutions for connectivity, agility, and sustainability. Phan Thanh Sơn, deputy CEO, head of global transaction services of Techcombank Việt Nam highlighted that the first priority for corporate banking is cash visibility by managing companies' payables and receivables, reducing cash management operations, and managing supply chain transactions and data. Kaiwan Turel, head of payment advisory, global payments solutions of HSBC Asia Pacific, mentioned that the key focus area for transforming corporate banking is utilising digital solutions to scale up operations to provide customer-centric products and innovate end-to-end customer experience. Mark Willis, managing director and global head - API and open banking ecosystems of Standard Chartered stated that real-time treasury is shifting towards broader solutions that require optimised liquidity management. Moreover, leveraging APIs' real-time capabilities enhance user experience. Michael Christopher Cruz, vice president, usage and strategic businesses head of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) said banks in the Philippines face challenges in digitising corporate and SME banking when dealing with businesses in rural areas that rely on cash. Hence, banks must adopt the right digital solutions for customer needs and offer greater personalised experience. Frankie Wai, business solution director APAC of Temenos emphasised that ever-changing customer demands, evolving regulations, cyber security concerns, sanctions, fraud, and the impact of the pandemic have created an urgency for banks to digitise corporate banking and core systems. Key discussion points: ● How a composable banking approach can advance FIs capabilities at scale through open and secure cloud-native platforms? ● Utilising open banking APIs to build resilient real-time transactional services, enhance risk controls and meet regulatory compliance. ● The rise of embedded finance and banking-as-a-service to personalise the end-to-end customer journey, ● Identifying challenges and best practices for integrating new and emerging solutions to achieve greater hyper-personalised experience,

Senior executives and heads of digital banks across Asia Pacific discussed how innovation across service offerings and embracing a culture of transformation is key to growth and profitability, amid heightened competition. With more challengers entering markets, digital banks can differentiate themselves with the technologies brought in and how efficient data is used to enhance stickiness of products. Kevin Lam, head of TMRW and Group Digital Banking of UOB; Bryan Carroll, CEO of TNEX; Gunneet Singh Bally, senior vice president and group head of retail channels of Security Bank Corporation; Voranuch Dejakaisaya, executive chairman of Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG); and Nick Wilde, managing director in Asia Pacific at Thought Machine discussed the profitability of a digital-only business and how cloud-native technology stack help banks and financial institutions (FIs) build the operating models of unique experiences. Carroll said the main competitive advantage of digital banking is the ability to sum up all customer interactions, and the opportunities for value propositions. Bally discussed the increase in products and services offered due to “commoditised personalisation.” Lam talked about the need for close partnership and collaboration in the industry. Voranuch explained the process of innovating into the new digital core banking to support the digital requirements of today's marketplace. Wilde said all banks are digitising but the differentiator is innovation data-centricity, and how banks utilise data using technology. Key discussion points:  Personalisation is important to sustain profitability of digital banks, as it creates better insights to customer preference.  Digital banks are at a disadvantage when it comes to balance sheet and funding.  Forging close partnerships and collaboration within the ecosystem through understanding each other's culture.  Banks can leverage partnerships in the ecosystems  Focusing more on mortgages and home loan systems  Bank needs commitment to innovation to sustain profitability.

Addressing data gravity to build an insight-driven business by RadioFinance

Senior executives and heads of digital banks across Asia Pacific discussed how innovation across service offerings and embracing a culture of transformation is key to growth and profitability, amid heightened competition. With more challengers entering markets, digital banks can differentiate themselves with the technologies brought in and how efficient data is used to enhance stickiness of products. Kevin Lam, head of TMRW and Group Digital Banking of UOB; Bryan Carroll, CEO of TNEX; Gunneet Singh Bally, senior vice president and group head of retail channels of Security Bank Corporation; Voranuch Dejakaisaya, executive chairman of Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG); and Nick Wilde, managing director in Asia Pacific at Thought Machine discussed the profitability of a digital-only business and how cloud-native technology stack help banks and financial institutions (FIs) build the operating models of unique experiences. Carroll said the main competitive advantage of digital banking is the ability to sum up all customer interactions, and the opportunities for value propositions. Bally discussed the increase in products and services offered due to “commoditised personalisation.” Lam talked about the need for close partnership and collaboration in the industry. Voranuch explained the process of innovating into the new digital core banking to support the digital requirements of today's marketplace. Wilde said all banks are digitising but the differentiator is innovation data-centricity, and how banks utilise data using technology. Key discussion points:  Personalisation is important to sustain profitability of digital banks, as it creates better insights to customer preference.  Digital banks are at a disadvantage when it comes to balance sheet and funding.  Forging close partnerships and collaboration within the ecosystem through understanding each other's culture.  Banks can leverage partnerships in the ecosystems  Focusing more on mortgages and home loan systems  Bank needs commitment to innovation to sustain profitability.

Global Transaction Finance Re-Invented Conference by RadioFinance

Lawrence Chan, Group CEO of the Network for Electronic Transfers Singapore (NETS), discussed how the group is helping to shape the cashless payments in Singapore by focusing on merchant acquisition and servicing, especially in the small and underserved areas that account for most of the daily transaction volume.

In this RadioFinance session, Yasushi Itagaki, president director of Bank Danamon discussed how Indonesia responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the bank intends to grow by building on local branding and management expertise, serving domestic SMEs, corporates and consumers, as well as the prospects of future acquisitions to improve returns.

Patrick Cao, president of GoTo Group, the largest technology player in Indonesia, talked about the company's strategy to improve its bottomline following its successful market debut and how it copes with challenges brought about by rising inflation, interest rates, and tightening financial conditions

Risk management experts and practitioners shared their perspectives on the expanded spectrum of threats and elaborated on their changing role as they respond to new challenges.

Head Of Retail Convention by RadioFinance

Chief executives of leading Asian banks discussed how they navigated their institutions through the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical conflicts, rising inflation and economic slowdown, towards recovery in their respective markets.

Vietnam's Digital Transformation Journey – Rethinking Disruption In A Hyper-Connected World by RadioFinance

Heads of digital banking, cards and lending from leading financial institutions and technology companies in Asia Pacific discussed the evolution of cards as alternative types of digital payments become prevalent in 2022. Vipin Agrawal of CIMB Bank Berhad, Calvin Wong of RHB Banking Group, Frans Verdinan of PT. Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk, Vishal Gupta of Mastercard, Albert Naranjo of Tonik Digital Bank and William Cheong of Entrust discussed the rapid rise of digital payments and their potential to disrupt card usage. Various initiatives introduced by issuers in navigating this fast-changing digital payments landscape were also considered to re-imagine the positioning of cards. Agrawal described the growth of debit cards in Malaysia where the chip and pin security feature is considered an important driver for usage as it facilitates the safety of transactions. Debit card-based transactions have continued to grow in the country to offset the widening market share of various digital payment alternatives. Verdinan added that issuers need to be cognizant of customers' payment experience and the value-added benefits that can be realised. Naranjo explained that different ways of catering to the needs of customers require effective engagement through product/service enhancements and robust assessment of risks. Gupta highlighted that convenience was a central feature of cards-based payment experience and that incentive and reward schemes such as cashback, loyalty points and frequent flier miles were effective tools in maintaining customer loyalty. Wong underscored the need to exploit the synergies across the digital payment landscape, given that superior customer service was built on understanding customer pain points. Cheong proposed a “hybrid model” where the interplay of digital and physical cards would enable customers to transact in real-time through online or physical stores using contactless mobile or card payments. Mobasher Zein Kazmi, head of Research of The Asian Banker, in summary said that cards still have a role to play within the remit of digital payments. Re-imagining its positioning has become an imperative for the digital banking and card business teams across banks and card schemes, working to ensure that customer pain points are being meaningfully addressed. He added that consumer adoption of digital has transformed expectations over the last decade and card issuers will need to keep up pace by leveraging digital innovations to provide a seamless, interactive and intuitive payments experience. The following key points were discussed: • The shift to digital and growth of e-wallet transactions started well before the pandemic • The relevance of card as a payment instrument is predicated on its ability to adapt to and offer new use cases amid the emergence of new payment schemes • Effective issuer and customer engagement is essential for improvement in the overall payment experience • Embedded card security features provide customers with reassurance on safety of transactions • Card retention and usage are key determinants of card portfolio profitability

Nicolas Louvet, CEO, Coinhouse explores the idea of a crypto bank, discusses the steps the company is taking to apply for a banking license in France and Luxembourg, and argues that while a cryptocurrency bank is feasible, they can never operate on a global level because of state intervention, regulatory requirements, and issues of taxation.

Vincent Magnenat, CEO for Asia at Lombard Odier shared how as a seven-generation family business, the 225-year old institution continues to drive innovation in the wealth management industry with tailored offerings for global clients and partnerships with local incumbents to deepen its presence in the region.

At the Asia Pacific Banking Industry 2022 Outlook virtual session, chief economists and industry experts discussed key challenges and risks confronting the banking sector in the region. The dialogue covered the state of the global economy and financial systems, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resurgence, and how banks in APAC will perform in 2022.

Lars Holst, founder and CEO of GCEX, and Dusan Stojanovic, founding partner of TGV, recently discussed with me the business model of the UK based FCA regulated digital brokerage, how it works with institutional and professional clients on crypto assets, and expansion into Europe, Middle East and Asia.

J. Christopher Giancarlo, former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman and author of “CrypotoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money”, speaks to Emmanuel Daniel on the evolution of US regulation and policymaking on cryptocurrencies and his views on the future of finance, including SEC's recent responses to stablecoin and Coinbase.

Simon Loong, founder and group CEO of WeLab discussed the company's plans to build a pan Asia digital banking business, the path to profitability of its first digital bank in Hong Kong and how it is working with lead investor, German multinational insurance and wealth management group, Allianz.

Bernhard Kauer, founder and CEO of Puzzle2Pay, talked about the challenges faced by companies that want to enter the micropayments sector, the use of technology to achieve scalability and profitability, and the payments culture in Germany.

How ready are MEA banks to rethink business model amid digital currency disruption? At the MEA Annual Heads of Retail Finance and Financial Technology Virtual Dialogue, retail banking heads and senior practitioners, including Adewale Salami, First Bank of Nigeria Limited; Boma Raballa, CRDB Bank Plc; Constantinos Constantinides, QIB Group; Hussein Al-Abdulla, Commercial Bank; Korede Demola-Adeniyi, EcobankNigeria; Marie Christine Liu, Absa Bank Mauritius; Marwan Hadi, Emirates NBD بنك الإمارات دبي الوطني; Reena Mohan, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank; Sanjay Khanna, RAKBANK; Yemisi Edun, First City Monument Bank, and others, discussed how payment is being commoditised and destroyed by fintechs, and how banks have to rethink business models to face potential disruptions from digital currencies. They also debated the impact of technology on the cost to serve that democratises wealth management for retail investors, as well as responses to the second year of the pandemic. The following key points were also discussed: The areas of opportunity for banks to develop ESG and sustainable investment products. ● The region's strategy towards a cashless society by enhancing frictionless peer-to-peer and real-time transactions. ● Banks continue to expand wealth management products and are keeping crypto and digital assets on the radar. ● Banks are offering innovative wealth management services deploying technologies such as artificial intelligence and robo-advisors for a better customer experience. ● The payment business model will be disrupted in the next five years by central bank digital currencies.

The Asian Banker Finance Thailand 2021 Virtual Dialogue and Awards Ceremony Rottapron Ekabutr, Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri Simple); Dariusz P. Trocyszyn, Comarch; Vitai Ratanakorn, Government Savings Bank (GSB Society); Supaneewan Chutrakul, Kasikornbank (KBank Live); Rachakorn Chayapirad, TMBThanachart Bank (ttb bank); and other decision makers will discuss: ● Building the next generation digital banks and developing unique experiences ● Delivering frictionless customer journeys through cloud infrastructures ● Overcoming SME financing challenges and gaps to sustain business and economic recovery The leadership dialogue will be held as part of Finance Thailand in conjunction with Thailand Country Awards Virtual Ceremony 2021.

He Cong, founder at Probe Group, shared his expert view of the development of the blockchain industry in China, which will still be the most promising marketplace for blockchain breakthroughs because of the size of the supply chain, transportation, logistics and other industries. He Cong also talked about their third generation blockchain project and the significant roles of tokens and applications to their business model.

The crypto community wants to work with regulators but there are issues Eric Anziani, chief operating officer of Crypto.com, and Anson Zeall, founding chairman of International Digital Asset Exchange Association (IDAXA), discuss their perspectives on the risks, challenges and regulatory uncertainties of crypto technologies as well as how it is shaping the payments landscape. They also share their insider view of what is happening behind the scenes in KYC and compliance as banks start to embrace crypto technologies. Banks and financial institutions as well as regulating bodies are now keeping up with the rising trend of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and decentralised finance (DeFi). The increased adoption by the consumers of the digital platforms will drive easier access to these digital assets. In this Masterclass hosted by Emmanuel Daniel, founder of The Asian Banker, the industry experts also discussed how the industry's activity is primarily driven by trading and payment use cases. NFTs and gaming are gaining traction as the new trends driving the use of digital assets. Anziani pointed out that one of the big use cases to grow the crypto space is in gaming and finance (GameFi). The gaming industry has 3 billion users globally and it can serve as a catalyst to drive the next wave of growth for cryptocurrencies. Zeall pointed out that to expand crypto spaces globally, the industry players must bridge the knowledge gap among the regulatory arbitrage. In order to be on top of the game, regulators must collaborate with the industry players as the widening of crypto spaces is inevitable. The following key points were discussed: ● There will be no pure cryptocurrency or other currency that will dominate everything. There will be multiple forms of money as people want the benefits from a variety of options. ● Bringing the crypto technology to the mainstream raises awareness on the importance of the emerging trend in the trading and payments landscape. ● Inflation and money printing helps to drive the growth of crypto. ● Payment use case in crypto is country specific as regulators have different views of crypto and how they want to protect their citizens from financial risk. ● China banned crypto exchanges and payments, but they are still very supportive of the growth of the blockchain ecosystem. ● Stablecoins play an important role in the ecosystem as it allows consumers to go back and forth between assets that are deemed volatile and those that are deemed more stable. ● There are confusions on the definition and impact of stablecoins and CDBCs. Stablecoins leverage on the existing supply of currency, while CDBCs affect the actual money supply.

Huang Yiping, Sinar Mas chair professor of finance and economics, National School of Development, and director of the Institute of Digital Finance, Peking University, talksed about the history of economic decision making in China, the framework of current policies and the trajectory of policymaking.

Senior executives in technology, operations and digital banking from the Philippines discussed the different cloud migration strategies adapted by banks in order to provide a more seamless experience to their customers. Henry Antonio of RCBC, Henry Aguda of Union Bank, John Howard Medina of Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCOM), Arivuvel Ramu of tonik, Noel Santiago of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Rajashekara Visweswara Maiya of Infosys Finacle talked about the opportunities created by moving to cloud and what's next for the Philippine banks in their digital banking journey. The dialogue started with Henry Aguda as he shared that the cloud was instrumental for their bank's digital acceleration, providing their system with speed and agility to scale at will. Medina noted that moving to cloud has been the natural direction for PBCom since the bank has since moved its servers to a digital environment a decade ago. “We created a bank within the bank that was on cloud,” added Medina. Antonio, on the other hand, revealed that the pandemic has accelerated their use of robotic process automation functionalities, adding that they are still fairly conservative with their approach to artificial intelligence. The other speakers also spoke about the challenges of having an existing legacy, the IT concentration risks and the different models that are being utilised with regard to cloud adoption.

Edward Burman: “China is not an easy country” by RadioFinance

At the Leadership Achievement Dialogue 2021, regulators and CEOs/Chairmen/founders including Banthoon Lamsam, Kasikornbank; Norman Chan Tak-lam, HKMA; Sum Sannisith, National Bank of Cambodia; Juda Agung, Bank Indonesia; Victor Li, Pintec; William Tanuwijaya, Tokopedia; Nikhilesh Goel, Validus Capital, Nguyen Hung, TPBank, debated the inherent tensions between leadership that is expected to create stable and steady growth, and innovation which thrives amid disruptions, and the important role that regulators play in facilitating and harnessing innovations, while continuing to strengthen resilience of the financial system.

In this wide-ranging conversation, American Financial Exchange founder and chairman Richard Sandor talks about the creation of the rates index Ameribor and his ongoing involvement in environmental markets.

In this conversation, June Ou, incoming president of Provenance Blockchain Foundation, shares the complexities of building a public blockchain network that is permissionless and open source.

Yves Eonnet, CEO and co-founder of cloud-based core banking fintech Tagpay shares his perspective evolving core banking architecture, challenges faced by banks and the strategic technology change needed, as well as his company's future plans post recent funding. Interviewed by Neeti Aggarwal • TagPay has implemented cloud-based core banking system across 30 financial institutions, primarily in Africa and Europe • Banks need to evolve their core banking architecture to be cloud based, mobile centric, real time and open, rather than monolithic heavy architecture. • The company recently raised 25 million euro to fund its geographical expansion, strengthen its team and product TagPay is a French fintech that has developed next gen cloud-based core banking. It currently powers around 30 institutions in Africa and Europe. Eonnet opines that next generation core banking system should have five key characteristics in its architecture. It should be cloud based, mobile centric, real time, open and should have security designed for the new threats. His vision is that in the future, banks will need to redesign their architecture to have multiple core banking systems that are interconnected and open rather than a monolithic heavy architecture that exists across most financial institutions today. The company implemented core banking system at The Mauritanian Bank for International Trade (BMCI) to launch its digital bank Masrvi. Its other clients include Societe Generale, who is also an early investor in the company, Trust Merchant Bank and Banque Postal. Tagpay raised 25 million Euro from Long Arc Capital, an American private equity firm in January this year. Eonnet plans to utilize these funds for further expansion of its team in sales and banking expertise and to develop its product further. It future roadmap includes expanding its reach in Africa and Europe with plans for further geographic expansion.

At the Finance Vietnam Leadership Dialogue 2021, heads of retail banking, products and businesses, including Le Xuan Vu, MB Bank; Dinh Van Chien, TP Bank; Augustine Wong Kok Seng, VP Bank; Bryan Carroll, TNEX; Gunneet Singh, Ubank; Kanishk Upadhyay, Techcombank; Riddhi Dutta, Backbase, together with Pham Duc An, Vietnam Banks Association – discussed the challenges in building operational resilience during the pandemic and debated how new challenger banks and incumbent players will win in a digital-first era.

Senior business and technology executives from leading institutions in Vietnam assess the next steps in their digital transformation journeys as they redefine operational processes and service delivery.

At Heads of Retail Finance Meeting 2021, Ravi Narayanan, Axis Bank; Raymond Sia, Canadia Bank; Winsley Bangit, GCash; Herman Cheng, Hang Seng Bank; Girish Sehgal, ICICI Bank; Supaneewan Chutrakul, Kasikornbank; Darika Phagapasvivat, KEPT by Krungsri; Kalyani Nair, Maybank; Dang Cong Hoan, Techcombank; Joyce Gonzalez, UnionBank; and Jacquelyn Tan, UOB shared their insights on democratising wealth, new asset classes, and payment transformation in the second year of pandemic. The following key points were discussed: • Customers shift to digital platforms for daily financial transactions and payments. • Cryptocurrencies emerged as investment class and means of payment. • Deeper understanding of cryptocurrency is needed to assess its return potential, value, and risks. • Leveraging data analytics, AI and machine learning to provide a more personalised service • Balance fiduciary duty to customers by differentiating investing from speculating.

Tokenising, real estate and securities assets. This was the centre of discussion between digital asset management firm Elevated Returns founder and president Stephane de Baets with Emmanuel Daniel. The Belgian entrepreneur shared his journey in the financial industry that began in Thailand where he worked as an agency broker, moving his way up as an investment banker. He eventually set up his own investment banking firm OptAsia Capital, after which he founded Elevated Returns. In 2018, De Baets successfully tokenised 20% of one of his properties, the St. Regis Aspen Resort in Colorado. This proved that a digital security representing direct ownership of a privately-held asset can be created, he told Daniel. He expanded his business to Southeast Asia in 2019 with the acquisition of securities brokerage Seamico Securities, and later renamed XSpring Capital in 2021. The following key points were discussed: • The difference between tokens and real estate investment trust when it comes to asset fractionalisation • XSpring Capital was formed with the idea that one company can manage all the client's financial instruments • Thailand, through XSpring Capital, will have its first public offering of a real estate-backed token with a simultaneous listing on a private exchange • There are different checks and balances that are used for protection against cryptocurrency price volatility • Regulators will have to put in the appropriate framework to supervise NFTs and DeFis

In this virtual roundtable discussion, guests discussed how payment-as a-service is redefining customer experience.

Will card payment survive a digital-first world? Experts wager on the future of payment cards with Bryan Carroll of TNEX, Sharon Tan of DBS, Ben Gilbey of Mastercard, Priyanka Madan of GrabPay, and Michael Robertson of Entrust pitting their views and wits during an insightful discussion. Carroll opined that “plastic” will not survive as consumers, especially the Millennials and Gen Z, are already moving to mobile payments while Robertson argued that cards are here to stay as these have been the payment mode of choice for more 50 years and provide consumers a 24/7 tangible payment instrument that is robust, reputable, and ubiquitous. It is also evolving to be sustainable as well, available now in environmentally friendly materials such as wood and metals. The five speakers also tackled portfolio performance improvement, the use of AI and data analytics to enhance customer experience, and new business models that are shaping advancement in payment capabilities.

At the Finance Vietnam Leadership Dialogue 2021, heads of retail banking, products and businesses, including Le Xuan Vu, MB Bank; Dinh Van Chien, TP Bank; Augustine Wong Kok Seng, VP Bank; Bryan Carroll, TNEX; Gunneet Singh, Ubank; Kanishk Upadhyay, Techcombank; Riddhi Dutta, Backbase, together with Pham Duc An, Vietnam Banks Association – discussed the challenges in building operational resilience during the pandemic and debated how new challenger banks and incumbent players will win in a digital-first era.

In his discussion with Emmanuel Daniel, True Global Ventures founder and director Dusan Stojanovic shared the development path of non-fungible tokens and how these are now generating new revenue streams for the entertainment and gaming industries. This Singapore-based Swedish serial investor also talked about Animoca Brands and why this blockchain-based gaming firm is poised to become a $10 billion company in the next 12 to 24 months. He also discussed True Global Ventures (TGV)'s other portfolio companies such as The Sandbox and Forge Global. Stojanovic also revealed that TGV will continue to invest in blockchain application in the following industries: entertainment and gaming, artificial intelligence and data analytics, financial services, and infrastructure. Significantly, he believes that NFTs should expand into enabling robust digital identity infrastructure to meet know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance requirements for cross-border payments and other financial transactions in an increasing digitalised environment.

Robert Koopman, chief economist at the World Trade Organization (WTO), said US-China tensions have not adversely affected world trade but created opportunities for more countries to participate in global value chains. He feels that the digitalisation and servicification of trade will have transformational impacts that are predicated on digital cross-border data flows, privacy and ecommerce. In addition, massive stimulus measures to combat the pandemic have spurred growth, particularly in nations and regions with economic “gravity”, that have benefited global trade.

Scott A. Shay, chairman of Signature Bank in this discussion with Emmanuel Daniel said that early adopters of cryptocurrencies saw a serious problem with how payments, money, and store of value were handled. The rethinking of that led to the bank developing its blockchain-based payment platform, Signet.

Pedro Gurolla-Perez, head of research at World Federation of Exchanges, discussed the unabated rise of financial markets at the peak of COVID-19 crisis while reflecting cautiously on the real use cases of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The following key points were discussed: • Global financial markets experienced outstanding growth amidst pandemic • The role of IPOs and SPACS in meeting the needs of stakeholders • Volatility of cryptocurrencies as an investment asset class • The challenge of ensuring trust in a distributed system

In this RadioFinance dialogue, the discussion revolved around China's 14th Five Year Plan, which detailed the government's next phase of development to become a higher income advanced economy. Bert Hofman, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, pointed out that the emphasis of the five-year plan is on the country's quality of growth. The focus shifts to a “dual circulation” strategy, particularly on creating indigenous innovation and increasing domestic consumption to drive growth. John Gong, professor of economics at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, stated that the five-year plan is a vision statement which sets the goal of elevating China qualitatively into a modern economy and society.

In this up close and personal conversation with Emmanuel Daniel, Samuel Tsien, Group CEO of OCBC Bank, reflected on his journey of building a well-diversified pan Asia financial services franchise. He revealed the leadership traits that served as the key to his success, and divulged his plans for the future when he relinquishes his role.

Martin Jacques, the author of “When China Rules the World,” addressed the key factors that resulted in the growth of China's economy and global ascendancy. In his discussion during this RadioFinance session, Jacques highlighted the cyclical rise and fall of nations and as China takes centerstage, it will continue to impact the geopolitical dynamics around the world. The following key points were discussed during the interview: • The rise of China represents a new economic modernity illustrated in different areas such as its economy, political institutions, culture, the nature of the society inherited from its history and growing along with the country's development • It is time to have a process of better and deeper mutual understanding between China and the West to have a common ground of communication and learn about their differences. • The challenges faced by China, related to its unity and stability, is due to its large geographic size and demographic factors as compared to Europe and the US • China's culture is resilient—as reflected by its political values, unity, and stability—and it is capable of reinvention, however, it will not adapt to the western model of governance.