KBank goes online with Asean+3 business matching

In the 19th century, banks facilitated international trade with such tools as letters of credit, but in the 21st century, digital technologies including e-commerce have taken on that role, said KBank executive vice president Pipit Aneaknithi.

Global e-commerce revenue in 2015 is expected to more than triple to between US$250 billion and $350 billion from $80 billion (Bt2.6 trillion) last year. In Thailand, e-commerce has been slow to catch on, but eventually Thai companies will have to catch up with neighbouring countries for intra-regional trade. 

He said that based on transactional trends at KBank between 2012 and last year, the volumes of trade and letters of credit were staying stable, while telegraphic transfers were on the rise.

However, the new paradigms of international trade will not only bring opportunities for enterprises, but will also increase competition and bring unforeseeable risks.

Creditworthiness is important for international trade and KBank acknowledges that it can help screen clients by cooperating with partner banks in Asean+3 (the 10-member bloc plus Japan, South Korea and China).

The bank yesterday launched a global business-matching website, www.askkbank.com/aecplusmatching, to provide convenience for customers without a fee. Thai and foreign businesses can conduct negotiations via the website through KBank’s 40 partner banks across the Asean+3 nations with confidence. The secure log-in system enhances security for negotiation information. 

KBank expects 1,100 companies to use this service by the end of the year.

Earlier, business matching at KBank used offline channels, serving 1,000 companies.

By 2019, around 3,700 companies are expected to use the website.

It plans to expand business matching to enterprises with exposure in India and Australia soon.

In the first stage, KBank will focus on 24 industries including food and beverages, agricultural industry and electronics using online channels for business matching. It will take time to expand into the automotive sector, which is not easy for business matching because there are many supply chains.Businesses applying for membership of the website must be customers of either KBank or its partner banks or organisations, with at least three years of operations and minimum earnings of US$300,000 per annum. They must have positive operating results and good credit histories.