Driving Digital Transformation in APAC
For the first time, Sibos—the world’s premier financial services event—was held in China, marking a significant moment for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region as it continues to establish itself as a global leader in banking innovation. At the heart of this transformation is the mission to build the banks of tomorrow: institutions that are agile, customer-centric, and digitally enabled to meet the complex banking needs of both consumers and large corporations.
In an illuminating interview with Chris Principe, publisher of Financial IT, Antonio Camacho Hubner, APAC Head of New Business & Head of Banking at GFT, shares his insights on digital transformation, the latest innovations, and key trends shaping the banking sector in the Asia-Pacific region. He discusses the unique challenges and opportunities that the region presents for financial institutions driving technological change.
The interview provides a deep dive into the dynamic world of banking and technology in APAC. With a strong focus on Corporate Banking, described by Antonio as “the forgotten child of digital banking”, his perspective provides invaluable guidance for financial institutions navigating the complexities of digital transformation in one of the world’s most diverse and fast-evolving regions.
A Digital Revolution in APAC
The region is a dynamic testing ground for cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cloud-native platforms and is a trend setter in financial services. GFT is playing an instrumental role in shaping this evolving digital landscape, building new digital banks such as Mox and Trust. So far, however, innovation has mostly been in retail banking, with SMEs also well served. Corporate banking has been slower to embrace the opportunities offered by such technologies. With a generational shift in wealth and attitudes, that mindset is changing.
Asia is the manufacturing center of the world, and its corporations require services. The tier 1 and 2 banks that serve them are still very much on their digital transformation journeys and are only now applying the lessons learned from retail banking’s customer-first approach.
With the help of GFT, banks can meet the growing corporate demand for the kind of hyper-personalisation and mobile, real-time, secure transactions and decision making enjoyed by retail customers
Key Highlights
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Bringing the innovations in retail baking to the corporate sector: GFT is pioneering the application of retail banking insights—such as hyper-personalization, seamless digital experiences, and real-time data-driven decision-making—to corporate banking.
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Digital Currency: The volume and complexity of multi-currency global corporate transactions can only be served at speed by digital currency, CBDCs, Central Bank Digital Currencies. GFT's UDPN global payments infrastructure offers a perfect jumpstart in the regulated digital currency space.
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Sibos in China as a milestone moment: The event’s debut in China reflects the region’s growing influence on global banking and finance. A catalyst for collaboration and innovation, the event offered a unique environment to “meet current and potential clients and partners, to exchange ideas, get creative and join the dots…”
Final thoughts
With the complexity of privacy and regulatory compliance, Antonio sees the challenge ahead as providing the “practical benefits of transformation while protecting the boundaries of the individuals, legal entities and countries concerned.”
He concluded the interview with a powerful message for the industry: “Imagine a world where interbank transactions are safe and almost free. What that could do, for example, for migrant workers sending their remittances home.”
This interview offers a wealth of knowledge for industry professionals looking to learn from APAC’s successes and challenges. Watch the full conversation with Antonio Camacho Hubner to gain a deeper understanding of how digital transformation is shaping the future of banking in this vibrant region.
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Watch the full interview with Antonio Camacho Hubner at Sibos 2024.
