Asia paves the way for cardless ATM withdrawals

Banks in Asia now offer cardless ATM withdrawals, enabling consumers to access their money with only a mobile phone. This is seen as providing not only increased customer value but also brand differentiation. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was invited to share his observations on Asia leading the way in cardless ATM withdrawals.

UOB was the first bank in Singapore to offer Mobile Cash – a method of retrieving money without the need for an ATM card. Now, consumers can go to the ATM and top up their pre-paid cards with mobile cash. Subsequently, they access the internet via their mobile device and use that money to perform transactions online.

In Malaysia, Maybank was the first bank to offer a similar feature. A PIN would be sent to the recipients’ phone as an SMS, and it would be used to withdraw funds at an ATM.

CIMB Niaga launched a service called “Rekening Ponsel” in Indonesia; allowing consumers to use banking services without a bank account. It was positioned as a convenient and attractive service to the vast unbanked market, as consumers merely needed to register their mobile number with the bank to obtain a PIN for secured transactions.

The development of such services has varied in different parts of the Asia-Pacific based on different levels of market maturity, technology and need. For instance, Australia and New Zealand are more advanced in technology offerings such as contactless payments, core banking platforms and wearable technology, as compared to countries like Malaysia. More mature markets like Singapore and Hong Kong hold a great deal of potential for payment innovations.

Bahar opined that service features played an integral role in branchless banking and non-cash mobile banking services. He observed that intense competition in Southeast Asia was driving banks to differentiate themselves, and cater to new and under-served customer segments. This also meant that these customers would sometimes be the guinea pigs for e-channel innovations.

https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/asia-paves-the-way-for-cardless-atm-withdrawals/

Comments

Korea needs to focus on developing service robots

The Korean robotics industry grew by 60% a year between 2005 and 2011. Korea has a strong position in industrial robots. Now, the government’s focus should now be on developing service robots to sustain growth. Spire Research and Consulting shared its insights, published on the Business Korea news portal. Korea’s industrial robot sector is larger than any country’s, except for Japan, China and the U.S. However, the service robot sector is emerging as a new growth hotbed, thanks to the accelerated use of artificial intelligence. However, Korea does not have any companies that specialize in the development of service robots. It will take time to further develop Korea’s service robotics technology which is where the government and Korean enterprises need to step in and focus so as to claim early global leadership. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/korea-needs-to-focus-on-developing-service-robots/

Singapore celebrates its golden jubilee

Singapore celebrated its golden jubilee as one of the world’s developed economies. Following the death of founding father Lee Kuan Yew and the current global economic headwinds, can economic momentum be maintained? Japnit Singh, Senior Director, Singapore and India, of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. Singapore has successfully built a strong foundation for its economy with human development indicators such as education, life expectancy and per capita income on a positive high. Singh cautioned that the nation needs to focus in order to take bold and productive political decisions without becoming complacent. Moreover, it would be interesting to see if the next generation of political leaders would take difficult decisions with the same firmness and transparency as the founding fathers have done in the past. Singapore’s GINI coefficient – calculated as the ratio of income of the top 20% of population with the bottom 20% –...

Hong Kong maintains its global financial center tag

After 20 years of becoming an independent judiciary, does Hong Kong continue to remain a financial and business hub? Will this impact businesses in Singapore? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 10 July 2017 on Hong Kong’s economic climate and its impact on businesses in Singapore. Hong Kong continues to attract investors due to many factors such as a high- quality civil service, economic linkages to China’s Pearl River Delta economy as well as geographic proximity to the economic giants of Korea, Japan and China. Perera opined that despite economic and political uncertainties as well as what some perceive as political encroachment from Beijing, Hong Kong will remain an important business hub for the foreseeable future. Hong Kong both complements and competes with Singapore. Many multinational corporations (MNCs) use both cities as Asia-Pacific regional headquarters (RHQs). Shanghai ...

Germany: The Eurozone’s economic powerhouse

Germany is the fourth largest global economy today. Its exports amounted to EUR107 billion in March 2015 – an all-time high since the 1950’s. Despite being the only European nation with a strong manufacturing base and rising employment rate, will Germany succeed to drive Eurozone’s stagnant economy? And what lessons does Germany’s economic success hold for the rest of the world? Germany’s resurgence With the second lowest unemployment rate in the European Union (EU) at 5.3 per cent, Germany’s economy has survived many setbacks. The economic success dates back to the Industrial Revolution due to the early adoption of coal production and rail transportation. Moreover, the fall of the Berlin Wall – the reunification of West and East Germany – and the expansion of the EU created huge market opportunities for Germany. Often regarded as the ‘Sick man of Europe’, Germany had almost lost hope of returning to rapid economic growth, undergoing recessions in 2003 and a dismal 1.2 p...

Spire joins list of sponsors for Phoenix Global Chamber

The Phoenix Global Chamber aims to grow the number of people successfully engaged with cross-border trade and investment. With over 20,000 followers on its list, it strives to advance companies, careers as well as communities. Spire Research and Consulting is proud to announce its association with the Global Chamber of Phoenix as a sponsor. The Global Chamber of Phoenix, Arizona further engages leaders, companies and communities to facilitate global business growth and improve cross-border understanding. It aims to bring together like-minded people with the common mission of growing business across borders. As a sponsor, Spire will have the privilege of appearing in banner ads across the Chamber’s website, featured in regular e-newsletters and have access to speaker opportunities. Spire is proud of this new association and hopes to have the privilege of working with more Phoenix-based organizations to develop and execute their strategies in global emerging markets. This a...

The Knowledge to Decide

Search This Blog