Fintech
FinTech LIVE Singapore: Digital Payments Forum
In today’s hyper-connected world, the advent of digital payments has revolutionized the way businesses and consumers interact.
Speaking at FinTech LIVE Singapore, Kashif Khan, Vice President of Transaction Banking, Payments, Channels & Global Banking Technology Service Management at Standard Certificate Authority; Khang Ngoc Pham, Chief Financial Officer at Home Credit Vietnam; and Kannan Rajaratnam, Regional Director of Payments and Customer Operations at ZALORA Group, shed light on the impact of digital payments across multiple industries and markets.
Digital Transformation: The Era of Mobile Payments
As Standard Chartered’s Kashif says, “smartphones are not just devices, they are a gateway to the customer’s digital universe,” and payments are a significant part of that.
Today, digital payments via mobile devices have introduced an unmatched level of convenience, voice security and ease of doing business.
The shift to digital transactions has far-reaching implications that go beyond simple payment processing. Kashif notes that “the surrounding ecosystem is also becoming highly digitized and paperless in terms of all the moving parts that support the processing of a transaction or payment.” This shift is driving organizations toward complete digital transformation.
With the proliferation of smartphones, which have become more accessible and convenient, financial services have also been able to extend their reach to typically underserved and underbanked sectors of society. Digital payments have been at the heart of the push towards a financially inclusive environment.
“The unbanked or underbanked population in many regions who did not have access to basic financial services can now become an inclusive part of the banked population and can now have access to basic banking services,” Kashif continues.
Khang Ngoc Pham of Home Credit Vietnam highlights the extent to which digital financial services have expanded the scope of equitable financial inclusion efforts.
He says: “It’s taking what we do offline to the next level online, with digital payments being the primary way to connect with customers more seamlessly. He stressed the importance of education and responsible implementation, especially in emerging markets like Vietnam.
“These digital payment services are faster, cheaper, safer and more transparent, but they also put different financial products in the hands of users, thus offering greater education.”
For Pham, today the implementation of digital payment technology must be done responsibly, to best meet the needs of consumers, especially in emerging markets where the education of the most disadvantaged groups is of growing importance.