Why digital banks might already be obsolete

FROM financial incumbents to tech platform consortiums, companies are throwing their hats into the ring for Singapore's highly sought-after digital banking licences. Across Asia, countries such as South Korea are a step ahead, with Kakao Bank being one of the first digital-only banks in the region.

Hong Kong, the city-state's perennial competitor, has also unveiled a new generation of licensed digital banks in 2019. In the unflagging tug-of-war between and within nations, digital banks are seemingly shaping up to be the next battleground for financial domination.

And yet, disruption no longer occurs in a vacuum. Today, almost every major country is working towards issuing a central bank digital currency, with Switzerland's e-krona being the latest materialisation. Blockchain-powered infrastructure will have a profound impact on legacy financial systems - any digital bank player should not underestimate the transformative potential of blockchain technology.