Channelling the human side of fintech

BIG data. Cloud infrastructure. Blockchain. These terms have infiltrated our day-to-day vocabulary. Technology is now part of our daily lives, and an important part of our business in the financial industry.

Next week, the inaugural FinTech Festival organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore will attract an estimated crowd of more than 6,000 startups, technology companies, investors, financial institutions, research institutions, and innovation professionals from around the world to Singapore. Clearly, on top of being a key trading hub, wealth management hub and financial centre, developing a leadership position in technology and innovation is a key priority for Singapore.

As our CIO Michael Gorriz puts it, there is nothing magical about technology; it is the application of technology that is magical. Using technology to lift efficiency and improve the bank's solutions and services is not new. However, as we continue to welcome the use of technology and innovation, we are mindful that the heart of technology should still be the client and that everything the bank develops must be client-centric. When we launched the eXellerator, our innovation lab in Singapore, its mandate was to work closely with the business to serve client needs by using human-centred design concept, a creative approach which starts with the clients we are designing for, and ends with new solutions that are tailor-made to suit their needs.