CIMB Thai seeks open platform deal with fintech providers
CIMB Thai Bank is talking with 10 local financial-technology (fintech) providers about the design of a trade-finance solution catering to small and medium-sized enterprises that have exposure to the Asean market. The bank has an open platform for fintech
He said the bank was keen to use fintech to access more SME customers in Thailand, while those with trade finance in Asean would find it more convenient to use the new solution, being co-developed by the bank and its pool of fintech developers.
“Those 10 fintech businesses could be our partners, as each provider has expertise in a different area, and we can use those ideas to offer a total solution to our customers. The product derived from the partnership with local fintech providers is expected to be launched at the end of this year,” he explained.
Phisit added that the new product would help the bank expand its SME customer base, while its fintech venture would enable it to connect more closely to what the parent CIMB Group network has been doing in the fintech area.
Malaysia-based CIMB Group last year announced a partnership with Startupbootcamp FinTech, an accelerator programme for start-ups wishing to expand in the region.
The group has two fintech strategies: the partnership with Startupbootcamp FinTech to develop financial products and services for the group and its subsidiaries in the region; and the adoption of innovative solutions to reinforce existing businesses.
The second strategy is “unique” to CIMB Group, which believes it must adjust itself to ride the fintech trend, he said, pointing out that the Thai unit is participating in this strategy by offering ideas on how to create innovation within the overall organisation.
Under its three-year business strategy, CIMB Group sees fintech “as a journey leading to new innovations and increased efficiency for the group and its business units”, he added.
Inroads for fintechs
CIMB Group chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Zafrul Aziz earlier talked about the partnership with Startupbootcamp FinTech as one that would not only advance financial innovation in the region, but also create inroads for these fintech businesses in growing markets such as Thailand and Indonesia.
CIMB Thai expects the open platform for local fintech providers will help it increase income from transaction banking, which it hopes will grow 70 per cent-80 per cent annually over the next three years, Phisit said.
The bank has 2.5 per cent of the Thai transactional-banking market, which it targets increasing to 4 per cent in three years’ time based on estimated annual market growth of 3-5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand has made CIMB Thai an appointed cross-currency dealer for the settlement of ringgit-baht trade under the newly launched Local Currency Settlement Framework.
The central bank is expanding the framework to other countries in the region and, given CIMB Group’s network in Asean, the Thai unit hopes it can benefit from this development and its fintech partnership platform to accommodate trade finance for SMEs as a means of supporting overall transaction growth, the executive added.
