apidays LIVE JAKARTA - Connecting the Digital Stack
Open Banking in the Real World: Fintech API adoption across Southeast Asia
Todd Schweitzer, Co-Founder & CEO of Brankas
Web Form Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apri...
apidays LIVE JAKARTA - Open Banking in the Real World: Fintech API adoption across Southeast Asia by Todd Schweitzer
1. Open Banking in
the Real World
Fintech API
Adoption across
Southeast Asia
30 September 2020
2. ● CEO and Founder of Brankas, an Open Banking technology company in SE Asia
○ Operating in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand
○ 70+ staff across APAC, remote-first
○ Backed by leading fintech Venture Capital firms in US + SE Asia
● Brankas is solving the “last mile” for Open Banking in emerging economies:
○ “Supply side”: Helping Banks launch Open APIs in days
○ “Demand side”: API aggregation for fintechs and ecommerce
○ APIX Advisory Council and tech partner
○ Policy guidance and advocacy with central banks, privacy commissions
About Me
3. Why does SE Asia fintech matter?
● SE Asia financial services is undergoing regionwide disruption,
benefiting customers
○ Highly profitable while >60% unbanked
○ Branch centric + under-investment in consumer/SME digital products
○ Wave of challenger banks and non-bank alternatives
○ SE Asia Open Banking is commercially led; limited regulation
10. Incumbent bank going API-first
UnionBank #7 Bank in
Philippines
Shift to Digital-First
Strategy
Separate entity for venture
capital + new products,
UBX.ph
11. Incumbent bank with digital marketplace
Siam Commercial Bank
(SCB), #3 bank in Thailand
eCommerce “mall” inside
bank app
One-click checkout, all SCB
12. Open API Products we see in SE Asia
1. Account information / statement sharing (AISP)
- Credit scoring
- Identity verification
- Accounting and budgeting
2. Payments without a middleman
- eCommerce Checkout: bank transfer, installments, pay with points
- Pull funds into bank / ewallet app
- New QR standard in PH, ID
- Corporate disbursements API
3. Account opening / origination
- Deposit accounts
- Loan origination
- Retail bonds
4. Authentication and Single Sign-On
13. Why do Banks choose to launch API Products?
1. New customer acquisition and engagement
a. Retail/SME: third-party acquisition channels, app marketplace
b. Corporate: “integrated banking”
2. New fee revenue: monetize transactions, payments, customer data
3. Platform revenue: fintech marketplace, “app store for banking”
4. Data Insights: Single customer profile across entities
5. Product Innovation: Create and test new products
14. Beware of organizational blockers
API team blocked by other business units
- “that’s our customer”
- “that’s our product”
IT blockers
- API technology team requires new skills and new ways of working
- Requires in-house engineers
- Requires Agile way of working (not words but actions)
Legal and compliance blockers
- New technologies, new (or lack of) regulator guidelines
- New onboarding processes for fintech partners and end-customers