Payments in Asia Pacific
The global financial crisis that rocked the US and EU banking systems has left banks in Asia Pacific relatively unscathed.
In transaction banking for corporates, banks such as Singapore’s DBS and UOB, Australia’s ANZ and Malaysia’s Maybank and CIMB have emerged from the economic turbulence well-positioned as regional champions to battle global players such as Citi and HSBC for market share in their home turf.
In the retail banking space, strong balance sheets have given leading domestic banks and regional layers the opportunity to acquire other institutions to achieve scale, and to invest in new channels and services for customers.
Payments are at the heart of these activities – moving money in a timely and cost effective way for retail or corporate customers. While RTGS and SWIFTNet volumes have remained broadly flat in the region over the past few years, volumes for electronic low-value payments are rising rapidly in most markets – particularly for Giro, and direct debit and credit payments. This comes as cheque usage is declining across the board.
This paper takes a snapshot view of recent developments in the national payments infrastructure of a number of key Southeast Asia and Pacific countries, and the increasing interoperability between them, both for high and low value payments. It also looks at the strategic direction the region’s banks are taking with their payments-related products, services and systems.
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