In addition to technology, organizations must focus on customer needs to succeed in the innovation economy, the bank said.
A focus on security and customer needs has driven UOB's approach to innovation, and has been key to bringing the 80-year-old institution into the digital age, said Lawrence Goh, the bank's Managing Director, Group Technology and Operations.
Goh, who was speaking at a panel discussion on growth in the innovation economy moderated by Sanjay K. Deshmukh, Vice President and Managing Director, Southeast Asia and Korea, VMware, said that UOB took almost five years to standardize its IT infrastructure across its consumer, wealth, wholesale banking segments. This was done to ensure that regional connectivity and customer centricity can be serviced, he said.
«After the standardization of our system, we started thinking about innovation. Technology plays a large part, and getting flexible infrastructure around that as well,» Goh said.
Innovation
«Innovating is an ongoing conversation with customers,» Goh said. He used the example of TMRW, UOB's digital bank launched earlier this year. He said UOB chose Thailand to pilot its digital bank because the country is young, digitally savvy and into social media. This has allowed the bank to «experiment with what matters most to the customer»
He said that by making banking convenient and engaging, UOB has been able to tap on a new market of new, younger customers.
Working with Fintechs
«Fintechs are a source of R&D. They are our partners,» Goh said. He explained that the bank uses AI software to communicate with its digital banking customers in Thailand and uses the technology to categorize transactions to understand their spending patterns. The bank then uses this data to help its customers achieve their financial goals.
«If we can use fintechs, then we don’t have to spend a long time trying to develop the architecture and the software,» Goh said, pointing out that TMRW was launched in only 14 months.
Security
The panel discussed that while having the right digital foundation is critical, security also plays an essential role in developing the right architecture for the businesses so they can ultimately thrive and succeed.
Goh added that security is not just a technical issue, but human behavior. «It's about education and reinforcing the message. We educate customers about how to protect themselves. We also provide convenience to our employees but make sure they are in a safe environment,» he said.
