Illustration: iStock
Transaction banks in Asia have been relatively slow to move away from manual processes. PwC's 2023 Digital Banking Survey states that it is imperative for Southeast Asian banks to build strong integration capabilities to accelerate their digital transformation efforts, with more than 80% of survey respondents admitting that they are not yet at par with their digitalisation goals.
A digital transformation benchmarking study released by Coalition Greenwich in July noted that the pace of digitisation of transaction banking in Asia is slower than other parts of corporate banking.
Vincent Casanova, GTreasury
The problem for banks in the region is the growing importance of digital capabilities among Asia-based firms looking for new transaction banking providers: More than half of the firms surveyed by the Coalition cited digital as a key criterion when selecting a cash management provider, and a similar trend was seen in trade finance, where 39% said digital services were important.
“There is growing pressure on Asian banks to build deeper digital capabilities through transformation strategies focused on transaction banking,” said Parijat Banerjee, head of Asia Pacific at Coalition Greenwich and co-author of “Winning through digital in Apac transaction banking.”
