End-to-end redesign, customer satisfaction key trends for Thailand’s banking leaders

Industry leaders and experts from 29 different organisations gathered for the Asian Banking & Finance Bangkok forum held at JW Marriott Bangkok on 4 April.

Banks across the Asia Pacific region are embroiled in a battle of creation and innovation both as a means to thrive in a volatile environment and as part of their renewed efforts to capture and maintain their customers’ patronage, industry leaders and experts told attendees of the Bangkok Leg of the 2023 Asian Banking & Finance Forum.

The exclusive event brought together 64 individuals from 25 different organisations, through panel discussions and presentations from industry experts.

Speaking to over 80 individuals across 29 different organisations, Bain & Company associate Partner Noon Poomgate kicked off the event by discussing the means that financial institutions have redesigned their end-to-end processes.

Poomgate listed the common pains financial institutions face when it came to transformation: notably, the lack of unifying vision and critical priorities; a siloed approach to the redesign process; a narrow perspective on transformation; a lack of focus on customer needs; and finally, poor implementation of their transformation plan.

“When you talk about optimising end-to-end efficiency, you need to set an ambitious goal. A bold goal: bank-wide transformation. And you need to look at each of the key leaders of the bank, your cost, your revenue,” Poomgate said, adding that it is important to consider all these details in order for the bank’s leadership to really understand the current processes in the bank and determine the right transformative action to take.

Poomgate advised institutions must also adopt a “founder” mentality; ensure a customer-centric journey; and put sustainable transformation amongst their priorities.

Sustainable transformation is a key priority of CIMB Thailand over the past few years, as Lim Yeong Thian, head of Strategy at CIMB Thai, would tell attendees. Lim talked about how the bank built a sustainable banking ecosystem in his presentation.

Lim noted the need for CIMB Thai to embark on an end-to-end redesign in order to embrace ESG strategies in its processes. Three key factors influenced banks’ sustainability push:  climate change, regulatory push from governments, and evolving customer preferences.

"We believe all companies represented in this room have their own sustainability strategy and agenda. And we see this as a movement. In order for us to move together, the whole ecosystem needs to move together,” Lim said, noting several opportunities wherein banks can strengthen their ESG agendas. These includes sustainable offsetting; offering sustainable core products; offering sustainable advisory services; and gathering data on ESG-related areas.

The data monetisation strategy is a key subject discussed by Itthipat Limmaneerak, Advisory Partner for Financial Services at KPMG, in his speaking session.

Limmaneerak introduced four steps in order to create a winning data monetisation strategy. First is understanding the fundamentals; then creating strategic data assets from the framework and defining value creation; and finally, formulating data monetisation scenarios.

ALSO READ: Filipinos spent over 4 million hours using e-wallets in 2022: study

More data, more personally-tailored solutions
The first-panel session, moderated by Asian Banking & Finance Publisher Tim Charlton, dove into the topic of digital banking and trends in customer experience as discussed by Martin Buchholz, Head of Digital Banking at CIMB Thai, and James Ellis, Vice President for Business Development in Asia Pacific at Collinson.

Buchholz discussed how they created an environment that allowed them to see customer feedback, such as offering customer surveys and having social media monitors. “So, it's continuous feedback. It’s such a feedback loop that we now have one development unit, which we call our velocity squad. And their purpose is to respond to customer needs.” 

Buccholz also shared how they have improved their customers’ banking journeys by streamlining online services. For example, he shared that CIMB Thai is the first bank in the market to no longer require signed paper contracts. This meant that any customer from any province could access the service without the need to go to a branch.

Ellis, meanwhile, discussed the key findings of Collinson’s survey on what customers really want in their financial service provider: addressing their specific trouble through a personalised solution. And these people, Ellis and Collinson found, are willing to share more data if the bank can provide them with their solution.

A keyword that came up a lot in their survey is the word ‘trouble’. Ellis found that 85% of the respondents from Thailand said that they will stay with their bank if their bank creates a solution that talks to and addresses their specific financial-related trouble.

“One of the things that we saw that was very clear, was that it’s now a demand for things to be personalised, and addressed directly for the consumer’s needs,” Ellis noted. “85% of people in Thailand that we surveyed said that “trouble” is a keyword for them. ‘I will stay with my bank if they can create a solution that talks to and addresses their specific troubles.”

ALSO READ: Thais should invest in Japan’s real estate amidst yen depreciation: Bangkok Bank

“I’ll give you my personal data, but make sure that what is given to me is tailored to what I want. I don’t want a one-size fits all approach; I want to be spoken to directly,” Ellis said, quoting the respondents regarding their expectations of banking services.

Simon-Kucher partner Alan Kim, meanwhile, spoke about global wealth management and wealth banking in his speaking session.

The morning ended with a panel discussion managing wealth assets amidst the dynamic environment, in which attendees listened to Thiyachai Chong, Head of Wealth & Preferred at CIMB Thai; Win Phromphaet, Head of High Net-Worth Division at Krungsri Bank; and Sornchai Suneta, Executive Vice President at Siam Commercial Bank share their banks’ expertise on the topic.

Inclusivity and financial literacy in the insurance sector
The afternoon segment of the event opened with a presentation from Itt Apiraktivong, Chief Corporate Development Officer at Prudential Thailand, where he discussed how they focused on making life insurance a sustainable practice in Thailand.

He explained the company’s framework for making insurance affordable and financially inclusive for the modern family, and why financial literacy–particularly targeted at children– is a key pillar of what insurance organisations want to provide to society.

Pakawipa Charoentra, Chief Customer Officer of Krungthai-AXA Life, followed with a presentation on the growing and changing customer experiences in the insurance industry.

SEE ALSO: China’s reopening to boost Thai banks’ loan quality

Charoentra emphasised the importance of a positive customer experience for the success of a business, as happy customers tend to be loyal and refer others to a company’s services. She noted two factors that are majorly influencing the life insurance industry: an ageing society, and environmental issues.

She further discussed Krungthai-AXA Life’s strategies for transforming payers into partners and building partnerships with customers through new services and touchpoints.

She identified two key factors impacting life insurance needs: an ageing society and environmental issues.

The forum closed with a panel session on insurtech and its role in modernising insurance, featuring Heart Worawit, Head of Commercial and Business Development Thailand at ZA Tech; and Kamolwan Thaveekittikul, Head of Health Innovation at Muang Thai Life Assurance.