BearingPoint's Vasant Chaudhry to join panel at ABF Digital & Open Banking Conference 2019

He looks to explore blockchain’s potential in bankrolling SMEs.

Vasant Chaudhry is the head of the consulting practice at BearingPoint Singapore. He has worked with financial institutions in the Asia Pacific region for over 15 years, specialising in a wide range of topics related to digital banks:

• Productivity transformation through automation
• Building a new target operating model around how managers will organise and manage their teams which includes robots
• Strategic pricing: How do we enhance revenue and improve the bottom line?

Asian Banking & Finance had a quick chat with Chaudhry, as he discussed his various accomplishments with APAC’s financial institutions, as well as his session on digital banking for SMEs and corporates at ABF Digital & Open Banking Conference 2019.

What are your previous experiences and positions held that contributed to who you are as a banker/expert today?
I have been consulting financial institutions in the Asia Pacific region for the last 15 years, specialising in a wide range of topics impacting financial institutions. I have been involved in various transformation engagements for my clients including:

• Launching the first direct banking offering in Japan with a straight through account opening time of less than 6 minutes
• Leading the consulting engagement for the largest private banking and core banking transformation in Asia
• Leading the target operating model implementation across 13 countries in APAC for one of the global retail banks

What would you say are the best practices and digital strategies deployed by region's digitally dominant banks? Where does open banking fit in this agenda and how should banks capture the opportunities from this growing ecosystem?
The key element of digital strategy for the banks in the region has been to embrace innovation, co-create or collaborate with fintechs for faster time to market. Lastly for the region, the regulators have significantly been supportive of promoting innovation.

The open banking concept as in Europe has not been introduced in the region. But with digital-only banking licences issued in HK and soon to be introduced in Singapore, there is already a path being created. Open banking will also be alive in the region in the near future, giving consumers, budding entrepreneurs and the banks themselves to become like an “Apple Store” where consumers can select services and benefit from both bank offerings and new fintech—a win-win for everyone.

Can you give us a glimpse of what you will share at the ABF Digital & Open Banking Conference 2019?
The topic that I have chosen is digital banking for SMEs and corporates. So, for these topics, the key themes I would like to cover would be some of the client challenges and the potential path to overcome them, such as the following:

• Long, tedious, back-and-forth account opening process
• Funding and cash flow for SMEs: How do we make same-day funding like PayNow with small or no fees?
• How distributed ledger technology (DLT) is transforming the SME landscape and how banks will potentially play a role?

The ABF Digital & Open Banking Conference 2019 will take place on 22 October in Singapore. To learn more about the event, click here. To register, click here. For inquiries, you may contact [email protected] or at +65 3158 1386