The rapid transformation of domestic and cross-border payments brings new opportunities and challenges for financial institutions.Amid shrinking payment margins, players are rethinking their business models to better monetise data insights and integrate financing options such as “buy now, pay later” (BNPL). Industry experts share their views on the impact of this changing landscape, emerging value propositions, and key technology enablers for future growth

The most competitive digital retail financial institutions come all but from China, and the elite club of the top 10, representing all non-bank financial players, are exclusively from China, Korea and Australia

Driven by competition and rapid disruption, banks increasingly spend on technology enabled models targeted to improve customer experience and service capability. What are the recent developments and top priorities of banks in 2018?

MoMo grew into the largest mobile wallet provider in Vietnam by offering a better user experience and forging early partnerships with incumbent players

Retail banks in Hong Kong are capitalising on fintech to innovate their product palate and to reach out to new customers through dedicated digital channels.

With more than 70% of Southeast Asia being unbanked, fintech possesses tremendous potential to widen financial inclusion and spur economies. Advances in the industry mean more people and companies have the ability to save, borrow and transact. Yet with such a wide and sensitive remit, regulations need to keep pace with the constant innovation.

Fintech, the latest buzzword in the peer-to-peer lending sector, has carved a niche for itself in a short span of time. As banks tighten their seat belts for the new-age disruption, they are showing strong affinity towards collaboration with the marketplace lenders to secure their customer proposition.

The advent of new technologies is driving rapid upgrading of national payment systems around the world that are enabled with rich data and real-time capabilities.

It is not often that a technology comes along that forces a rethink of traditional business models. Blockchain, a technology that originated from an anti-establishment alternative to fiat currencies, is fast finding applications in a myriad of financial use cases

Regulators in Asia Pacific such as Indonesia's OJK are actively planning for measures to promote the growth of fintech in the region.

While crowdlending in Asia Pacific shows early promise, its fate will be dictated by how regulators and banks respond to the challenges they pose.

As trials move into actual implementations, global financial markets and monetary systems will be disrupted and transformed.

Central banks worldwide increasingly recognise the benefits of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) in making remittances and other cross-border transactions cheaper, faster and safer. Pilot projects set in motion seek to identify opportunities and risks as well as explore the possibility of having shared infrastructure to automate cross-border payments, foreign exchange and settlements.