PHOTO CREDIT TK
winner for Most Innovative Digital Bank in the Asia-Pacifi c
region as well as several other awards.
Covid-19 accelerated DBS clients’ adoption of digital solu-
tions by as much as two to four years in the fi rst half of 2020,
Laurens says. He credits this in large part to the bank’s success
at delivering application programming interface (API) solutions
that enable clients to integrate instant, contactless payment solu-
tions into their business processes.
“Alongside helping our clients gain much-needed access to
liquidity and fi nancing to stay afl oat,” Laurens says, “implement-
ing API-based services to deliver contact-free solutions has been
part of our critical response to the pandemic, as we recognize
that businesses have to reduce or eliminate physical interac-
tions. Additionally, given the disruption Covid-19 has brought
to global supply chains, we’ve accelerated the digitization of our
trade and supply chain fi nancing services.”
Adopting the latest digital solutions in trade fi nance has
been essential to DBS’ clients as they scramble to fi nd the
most effi cient ways to operate their businesses during the
pandemic while searching for solutions that can carry their
business platforms into the future. “As the post-pandemic
world begins to emerge,” says Laurens, “we expect further
acceleration of trade digitization, given the extensive benefi ts
of paperless transacting.”
Covid
Raises
The Digital
Ante
The global health crisis is
forcing banks to accelerate
digital transformation.
Customers are responding.
I
t used to be that banks viewed digital transformation as some-
thing that evolved in fi ts and spurts, in line with legislation
and customer preference. That’s been upended by the Covid-
19 pandemic, as remote operation has suddenly become
imperative.
Legacy infrastructure has long held banks back, but the need
for digital and contact-free solutions is pushing them to fi nd
new ways to create safe and effi cient services for customers.
The good news is that banks are earning praise for helping cus-
tomers go digital and remote and for making it easier for those
under fi nancial stress to secure assistance. Increased uptake of
digital services by both consumers and corporates, moreover,
is accelerating change.
This year’s Best Digital Bank awards, judged by the editors of
Global Finance and vetted by our partner Infosys, refl ect banks’
responses to the demands and opportunities the pandemic poses
for them. Round 1 includes country-level and regional awards
in Corporate/Institutional and Consumer subcategories. Round
2—global winners—will be featured in the December issue.
“Digital has been at the forefront of our engagement with
clients for some time, helping clients drive transformation of
their businesses to realize new strategic opportunities across
commercial business units and treasury operations,” says John
Laurens, group head of Global Transaction Services at DBS, PHOTO CREDIT TK
22 | Global Finance | September 2020
ANNUAL AWARDS
WORLD’S BEST DIGITAL BANKS—ROUND I | By Gilly Wright
