Overall economic growth prospects for the Africa region are favourable. Most banks will raise capital base and maintain stable profitability, but weak asset quality will remain a key concern

The total capitalisation of digital assets surged three-fold in 2021, with strong evidence that the momentum is likely to continue into the new year. DeFi users are expected to continue their exponential growth over the next 12 months, with more institutional investors moving into the space, combined with greater clarity over regulators’ stance in the large economies such as China and the US. What challenges and uncertainties could lie ahead to derail the upbeat outlook?

New digital financial infrastructure, new regional free trade agreements, and decisive leadership in the emerging sustainability and green agenda bode well for international RMB adoption.

As the trade finance industry collectively progresses to address challenges around digital fragmentation and isolation, adoption of standard solutions and well-established legal frameworks along with technology as an enabler will play critical roles in truly digitalising trade.

Despite weak growth in the banking industry last year, UOB managed to grow its SME deposits significantly and reported the lowest CIR among its peers. It was also the first bank to announce $2.2 billion in relief assistance in February 2020, ahead of any government support measures. It was the leading provider in government’s assistance schemes to SMEs with the largest market share.

A year after Hong Kong issued eight digital banking licences, Mox and ZA Bank have emerged as the early leaders. Together with WeLab, the three banks account for 86% of all virtual banking deposit in Hong Kong.

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 German fintech’s dramatic collapse is likely to reshape the payment processing landscape as market rewards players leading innovation and value creation

The use of RMB in international transactions will increase despite US-China trade frictions and on-going COVID-19 pandemic according to the latest annual survey on RMB internationalisation conducted jointly by China Construction Bank and Asian Banker Research.

While fintechs may take some market share away in specific niches, the partnerships, analytics, and value-add that leading banks are developing can keep head of the game. Banks that fail to keep up could lose a significant share of their SME business

Several key themes emerged amidst the many discussions by global leaders in payments, including QR code, blockchain, credit card schemes, fintech and data consolidation

Innovation by financial technology companies (fintechs) has led to many banks opening their doors for collaborations. The strategic approaches, often multidimensional, vary from investments to building an ecosystem and technology partnership

The bank onboarding process should be fast, as the most fundamental attribute of an exceptional account opening experience is speed

As real-time processing becomes the norm in domestic payments, how long would it take for cross-border payments to catch up?

Global and regional cash management banks across Asia-Pacific are making substantial investments in digital initiatives to enhance the overall transaction experience of their clients.

Implications of new regulations and emergence of digital-only players were hot button issues discussed this year at the Asian Banker Future of Finance ‘Global Transactions Re-invented’ track

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is driving the country’s banks to move to digital platforms through its “Bank 3.0” vision as banks have an urgent need to differentiate themselves in the crowded retail banking market.

Investments and interest in distributed ledger technology have been rising rapidly as new use cases emerge to harness its potential. The technology is nonetheless still at an early stage with many hurdles to cross, possibly five to seven years away from mainstream adoption.

Credit card issuance and usage wane as digital and mobile payments increase in popularity.

While many financial institutions in emerging markets are trying to strike the right balance between their physical footprints and digital presence, leading banks in mature markets are proving that digital transformation can boost profitability and efficiency.

The incumbent outlines its response to an increasingly fragmenting payments landscape offering to support old and new customers alike by helping them de-risk major technology investments with the provision of a gateway service.

China Merchants Bank and China CITIC Bank are developing their credit card businesses to stimulate retail income.

Despite current economic challenges, Vietnam’s banking sector has promising longer term potential due to its relatively young and increasingly affluent population.

The contribution of consumer finance to the overall retail loans in Asia Pacific in 2015 ranged from 2% to 56%. Its share to retail loans has increased in markets like Indonesia but has declined in Hong Kong and Thailand. The growth of consumer finance per country also varied, slowing down in Taiwan and growing faster in the Philippines.

New payment options in the market are creating new opportunities, making competition fiercer, and reducing the use of cash and cheques.

Banks are integrating new technologies into their core businesses to improve their digital banking presence and speed-to-deliver

The mBridge pilot has tested the issuance of over $12 million in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and payments of over $22 million on bridge. It has resolved long-standing pain points in traditional cross-border payment systems and is rooted in the roadmap for distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based infrastructure, as well as CBDC.

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.

Chinese private banks are upgrading philanthropic planning services to cater to increased demand following the country’s ‘common prosperity’ policy

Banks have implemented chatbots for operational efficiency and improved customer access, but new AI capabilities expose key gaps in contextual and cognitive capabilities of current bots

With a large portion of Africa’s population still lacking access to traditional banking services, particularly in places banks fear to tread, payment providers have stepped into the breach, gaining in popularity for offering services beyond the usual payments, money transfer and savings

Digital currencies are revolutionising global finance and erasing borders, and while DeFi and the creator economy drive privacy-focused systems independent of governments, the narrative centers on traditional finance and DeFi convergence

The shift in global supply chains is accelerating demand for new financing programmes and solutions that aim to accelerate and improve trade digitalisation processes

An altered operating environment has led treasury to reprioritise their investment and liquidity management strategy, with cash management providers offering enhanced solutions

China's e-commerce rebounded in 2023, with Pinduoduo's remarkable performance surpassing that of Alibaba and JD.com. Alibaba responded with the 'Year-End Good Price' festival, emphasising a 'low price strategy.'

The majority of institutions surveyed attribute their increased Renminbi usage to China’s investments and partnerships facilitated by the Belt and Road Initiative

The Indian central bank’s disciplinary action and consequent threat to Paytm Payments Bank’s licence is a lesson for the industry that growth and innovation cannot be at the cost of compliance

Philippine digital banks saw rapid growth in 2023 alongside mounting concerns over credit quality as gross NPL ratios soared

The global use of Renminbi is influenced by geopolitics, macroeconomic conditions, infrastructure, and technology

Surveyed institutions continue to adopt RMB in cross-border trade, driven by cost benefits and foreign exchange risk management

Alipay retains its top spot in this year’s ranking, while Apple Pay climbs higher with its expanded financial services ecosystem

Member countries of the Arab Monetary Fund are enhancing global cross-border transactions through streamlined payments, improved compliance, and increased financial inclusion.