DBS delivers game-changing SME digital banking experience
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SMEs’ pain points when it comes to banking are well known — the difficulties in opening a bank account and obtaining timely loans to bridge their financing gap. “This is DBS digibanking” is DBS’ SME digital banking initiative that addresses exactly the pain points of SMEs in accessing banking services.
“On the whole, ‘This is DBS digibanking’ is about enabling SMEs, which account for more than 98 per cent of Hong Kong’s businesses, to build resilience amid Covid-19, and thrive in a post-pandemic economy through intuitive, intelligent and invisible digital banking,” said Sebastian Paredes, CEO at DBS Hong Kong.
Innovative fintech addressing SME pain points
“This is DBS digibanking” includes the ability for Hong Kong companies in simple business structures such as private limited liability company to open a business account completely digitally in as quickly as three working days. This addresses a key SME customer pain point, and also supports the need for social distancing and contact-free banking amid Covid-19.
“Not only does it make it easy for SMEs in simple business structures to open an account with us in as fast as three working days, all done digitally without setting foot in a branch, our online banking does all other things – all the way from account opening and personalised online banking platform to loan application, trade finance, security services and so forth,” said Nimish Panchmatia, Head of Global Transaction Services at DBS.
Hong Kong SMEs in simple structures can apply for a business account by submitting required documents, followed by taking a short video of the HKID card of directors and shareholders of a limited company incorporated in Hong Kong, online. The backend AI system then validates the authenticity of the HKID card and checks them against the live video taken by the applicant. This is how the document submission and identity authentication are automated, he explained.
For years, trade finance has been a heavily paper-based activity, from letters of credit to bills of lading. “One breakthrough we’ve made is that we’re now able to do several types of trade finance 100 per cent digitally and provide facilities to assist our customers with their trade and working capital requirements.”
Panchmatia said the bank’s digital transformation had already been in progress before Covid-19. However, the pandemic has prompted even more businesses, SMEs in particular, to digitally transform themselves by embracing online banking. “The mindset has changed. Customers are beginning to ask for what more can be done digitally. I think this shift in mindset will not reverse. We will continue with our efforts in driving banking innovation.”
The bank’s SME digital banking platform features a widget-based dashboard with extensive personalisation options. Customers can manage working capital, payroll, FX, accounts, transactions, apply for loans and services, or apply online for trade finance solutions with real-time updates. SMEs can also create a personalised FX watchlist and receive real-time FX rate alerts so that they can lock in an exchange rate when it is favourable for future payments to overseas partners. He added that DBS works closely with the Asian fintech ecosystem. The bank has co-developed a range of innovative services with tech partners to make online banking safer and more efficient.
Alex Cheung, Managing Director, Head of Institutional Banking Group at DBS Hong Kong, added that another major pain point of legacy banking has been the labourious, drawn-out processes of taking out a loan. With the DBS digital banking platform, SMEs have easy access to a personalised banking experience, including a hassle-free online loan application process.
The disruptions to the supply chain as a result of the pandemic and trade conflicts have inevitably caused cash flow problems for many small businesses in recent months. Through the bank’s SME digital banking platform, SMEs could borrow up to HK$8 million without pledging collaterals, according to Cheung.
Designed with security in mind
Despite the convenience and its overall promise, there are still concerns holding back some businesses from using online banking, such as security risks. But Panchmatia emphasised that the bank’s digital banking platform is architected with security in mind.
With enhanced digital token, customers can do away with their physical tokens and benefit from push authentication technology and more secure logins that employ biometric fingerprint or facial recognition technology on the customer’s mobile device for authentication.
Customers will receive notifications to authenticate logins and transactions on their corporate accounts, sent via a secure network, and can confirm the transactions with a single swipe on the mobile device.
“Access rights can also be assigned to, for example, several users as needed. You decide levels of online banking access rights each user needs to complete their job duties securely and efficiently,” said Panchmatia.
Open Banking presents new opportunities
Many small businesses such as retailers are integrating online and offline sales channels to create omni-channel customer experiences. Merchants may connect their DBS accounts with the payment gateway authorised by an e-commerce platform in partnership with DBS via Application Programming Interface (API).
“We are working with our Open Banking Partners to provide privileges and benefits in addition to a seamless banking journey. Our developer portal now offers more than 500 APIs and has created more than 400 partnerships,” he said.
“With the rollout of DBS digibanking, we believe this is a real game-changer for SME banking, and marks yet another milestone in our consistent efforts to support our customers through smart innovations,” Paredes concluded.