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Why banking innovation can change the game for small businesses

  • Accounting digitalisation, direct e-payment access and cost savings by migrating to cloud can boost performance of SMEs  
  • Rise in peer-to-peer lending, smartphone biometric security and instant access to virtual banks among many initiatives 
     

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SMEs are often short on the time and manpower to visit bank branches to manage their finances, but a digital bank allows them to conduct such matters online.

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Southeast Asia is a curious paradox – on the one hand, it is an underbanked region, with only 27 per cent of its 656-million-strong population having a bank account in 2016. 
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region complain about the lack of business financing, with less than 60 per cent having access to bank loans. 

On the other hand, the region is home to the financial hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore – around 190 banks operate in Hong Kong and close to 200 in Singapore. 

This combination has resulted in a rapid leap in banking innovation. As the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region opens up to trade and further development, its SMEs – long starved of financial options and services – stand to gain the most. 

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Check out are some key banking innovations creating new opportunities for SMEs.

1. APIs for bank feed integration

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