Digitalization and Innovation
Commitment
To adopt innovation and digital technology to create a better customer experience, develop products that serve customer needs, and enhance capabilities to meet changing demands of all generations
Materiality
The evolution of innovation and advancement of digital technology has a significant effect on people’s lives and financial behavior today. The continual increase in demand for financial services that are convenient, fast, and accessible anywhere, anytime, as well as for financial products that meet the needs of specific customer groups, has brought about opportunities and challenges to our business operations. Digitalization helps increase our competitiveness, enabling us to better understand our customers and develop products that respond to our customers’ needs, while also having the capability to provide services that are prompt, seamless, and lower cost. Given the importance of digitalization, the Bank is committed to continuously promoting and applying innovation and technology within the organization in order to deliver the best products and services to customers as “a trusted partner and reliable close friend” which will enable us to thrive well into the future. To ensure confidence in the use of financial services, we strongly emphasize effective management of information technology and cyber security risks. We also regularly communicate with customers, employees and the public about cyber threats and prevention measures.
Management of Digitalization and Innovation
The Bank's digitalization and innovation management is a cross-collaboration between the Technology Division, Innovation Department, and other related units including business units that provide products and services as well as support units. The Technology Division is responsible for developing and improving the digital infrastructure to support the operations of various units and development of products and services. The Innovation Division, as an innovation center of excellence, is responsible for researching, developing and procuring technology that can potentially be applied to the Bank’s business. This is to enhance competitiveness as well as to catalyze innovation within the organization and development of products and services that respond to customer needs. Moreover, Bualuang Ventures Limited, the Bank’s subsidiary, invests in high-potential businesses and works with competent partners, including startups in digital technology and financial technology, to promote innovation, while also seeking business opportunities for the Bank. In 2023, Bualuang Ventures Limited invested in STelligence Company Limited, a digital transformation, data analytics and automation technology service provider, which is a pioneer in providing data analysis solutions in Thailand. This investment presents an opportunity to strengthen the Bank’s digital capabilities by applying new technology to improve work efficiency and enhance security by using big data for in-depth analytics which will add further value to products and services for the Bank’s customers.
Establishing New Ways of Working
We recognize that in the digital era, the traditional style of working would erode our competitiveness in the long run. Therefore, we have established a number of initiatives to help develop our digital workplace and leverage our technology capabilities in order to increase workplace productivity and develop products and services as follows:
- Improving the core banking system, including modifying our processes and data sets to be connected and standardized across the organization, leading to a more efficient, integrated workflow, while also reducing operating costs.
- Adjusting ways of working to be more agile and efficient, such as working with agile systems, reducing the workplace hierarchy, promoting employee testing and learning, and setting up cross-functional teams with staff from different units working together on product and service innovations so that new products and services can be developed and launched promptly.
- Adopting systematic design thinking processes to gain a deeper understanding of diverse customer needs and seek optimal solutions for each target group of customers.
- Creating a digital ecosystem and platforms to integrate and connect products and services data, paving the way for the creation of new products and services, while also providing a good experience for customers.
- Adopting digital technology, innovation, and applications, such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Cognitive Machine Reading (CMR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Cloud Computing, and Microsoft Power Platform, in various working units of the Bank to increase work efficiency, reduce human error, shorten operation times and reduce operating costs.
- Applying AI and big data analytics to analyze customers’ behavior and needs in order to develop financial products and services that meet a target persona or segment as well as to improve the customer experience.
- Modernizing the digital payment system to support the rapidly growing cashless society.
Productivity Enhancement
The Bank initiated the Operations for the Future project to help strengthen the digital technology capabilities of business lines, systematically develop our operation divisions, and to enable the Bank to achieve operational excellence in five areas: 1. Excellent Service, 2. Excellent Systems and Processes, 3. Excellent Management, 4. Excellent People, and 5. Excellent Controls. In 2023, Operations for the Future adjusted various operational systems used to support credit operations processes to be more interconnected, thereby reducing errors and shortening the credit process, as well as enabling employees have a better quality of working life.
In addition, in 2023 the Bank organized the Tech Adoption Challenge project for the third consecutive year to enhance the organization’s digital transformation and inspire our staff to be sustainability change champions. If all the work presented in the project was implemented, it could help the Bank reduce the expense of hiring outside vendors by Baht 14 million per year, save 30,000 working hours, and eliminate 1.6 million sheets of paper per year which is equivalent to preventing the cutting down of 123 trees, and reducing greenhouse gases emission by 15,991 tons of CO2.
Product and Service Development
Our product and service development process begins with a study of the needs, objectives, and goals of customers. This is followed by designing and defining details; assessing and determining how to manage associated risks, such as risks from personal data protection and data security, as well as risks from non-compliance with regulatory standards and regulations; and prototyping and testing products and services until further improvements are completed. The Bank conducts pilot testing of newly developed products and services while collecting opinions and customers’ experiences to further improve products and services until products and services are introduced to the market or through the official launch of the product and service.
Product and Service Development
Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking
The Bank has continually enhanced our Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking application. In 2023, the Bank redesigned the application, improved the performance and added various functions to make it more convenient for customers to use, such as re-arranging various keypads to make it easier to conduct transactions when holding the phone with one hand, putting frequently used menus closer to the thumb or in a position where the user can press them more easily, arranging content with an easier-to-read format, and changing the position of the privilege banner so that customers will not miss out on the Bank's new privileges. Key features of the Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking app are:
- Online Savings accounts (e-Savings), Mutual Fund accounts, Securities Trading accounts, Bond accounts, and Electronic Foreign Currency Deposit accounts (FCD e-Savings) can now be opened online using Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking.
- Government Bond account opening service for e-Savings customers who have passed digital identity verification or National Digital ID (NDID).
- Requesting account statements.
- Applying for credit cards and co-branded debit cards; and instantly retrieving current accumulated points information to display on Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking.
- 0% installment payment service for new credit card holders, facilitating customers to access the service quickly.
- Notification service before the customer’s debit card expires and service for requesting replacement debit cards in the case of lost or damaged cards.
- Locking and unlocking services for money transfers, top-ups and payments via the application. Users can lock their accounts to prevent transfers, top-ups and payments from their accounts. Unlocking can be done by facial authentication.
- Service to change daily limits so that customers can set daily transaction limits that are most consistent with their own needs.
Cross-Border QR Payment
Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking enables immediate payment for goods and services by scanning QR Codes of merchants abroad. The Bank will immediately deduct money from the customer’s account in Thai baht using the exchange rate at the time of the transaction of the bank in Thailand that is responsible for making the payments to partner banks abroad to pay merchants. Users will receive an e-slip confirming the transaction immediately upon successful payment. Merchants in Thailand can immediately receive payment from foreign tourists who are customers of participating banks that accept payment by scanning PromptPay QR Code. This service is now available in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Cambodia.
BeMerchant NextGen
BeMerchant NextGen is an application that accepts payments via QR Code and provides payment history for merchants. It is especially suitable for small merchants, whether they are shophouses, stalls in fresh markets, or shopping carts. The application supports QR Code payments in all forms without specifying a minimum amount, including QR Codes with PromptPay (no transaction fees), QR Codes of applications connected with Credit/Debit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, TPN, WeChat Pay and Alipay. The service matches spending behavior of customers and helps facilitate a cashless society. In 2023, 1,097,942 merchants accepted BeMerchant NextGen payments with more than 53.33 million transactions.
dStatement
Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking provides the dStatement service for requesting and sending bank statements between banks in a digital format (dStatement) to facilitate customers who wish to use bank statements as evidence for various transactions, such as applying for loans. The Bank can send a statement directly to another bank as per the instructions or consent for information disclosure provided by the user. This simplifies the process, eliminates the problem of lost documents, and reduces related costs. In addition, the dStatement service uses the highly secure NDID system to verify identity in alignment with international standards.
PromptBiz
PromptBiz is a centralized platform for businesses to facilitate digital trade transactions and payments. It provides two main services: Trade and Payment Service, which offers digital document exchange and payment services; and Credit Service which facilitates loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) using transaction data from the PromptBiz system to support loan applications. The PromptBiz service helps reduce processing time as well as errors in document verification and tracking, lowers operational costs such as paper, document storage and transportation, is faster with the use of cross-bank trade and payment transactions, and improves access to finance for SME since the businesses have a digital transaction history which banks can use to grant credit conveniently and rapidly.
Corporate iCash
Corporate iCash is an internet-based cash management solution for large to medium-sized corporations, supporting a wide range of transactions covering: 1. Inter-account transfers, which can be made individually upon each instruction or automatically at scheduled times during the day; 2. Sending scheduled payment instructions and canceling payment transactions as required; 3. Determining the rights of each user in the system, such as data browsing, payment transactions, and transaction approval; 4. Preparing online transaction reports such as receipt and withholding certificates; 5. Preparing cashflow reports in planning for efficient management; 6. Gathering and displaying account movements, information of executed transactions and various financial transactions of intra-group transactions, and; 7. Payments to business partners and receiving payments from customers both in Thailand and abroad. Corporate iCash uses technology that meets international security standards and uses 2-Factor Authentication so that customers can conduct various transactions with confidence.
BIZ iBanking
BIZ iBanking is an Internet banking service for SME. The service provides diverse and convenient financial transaction management functions such as account statement checking, domestic and international funds transfers, payroll, direct credit for payments to business partners with accounts at Bangkok Bank or other banks, bill payments for goods and services, social security payments, and mutual funds. Our BIZ iBanking service is highly secure with 2-Factor Authentication and uses a security system that meets international standards.
iTrade
iTrade is a digital banking channel for export and import services. It has been developed to enable a business to digitally manage end-to-end international trade transactions efficiently, quickly, and conveniently with high security. In the first stage, the Bank has launched Documentary Trade services such as Letters of Credit. Upcoming stages will make available the full suite of new iTrade services including all import and export services. Customers will be able to conduct all types of international business transactions via an international standard security system whereby all transaction data is encrypted and 2-Factor Authentication from registered parties is required for login and approval, assuring security for customers when making a transaction using iTrade.
Bualuang iSupply
Bualuang iSupply provides a full range of online financial services for supply chains, covering online payments and receipt of payment for goods and services as well as provision of short-term loans to finance working capital needs by using technology that increases access to financial resources more easily and conveniently. Reference data on trade transactions in the trade network, covering both Dealer Payment and Finance, and Supplier Payment and Finance, delivers mutual benefits for all parties in the supply chain network, helping businesses grow sustainably. Large entrepreneurs or sponsors gain the opportunity to expand business with trading partners and reduce the burden of paper documentation for financial transactions. It also helps provide easier access to funds under competitive loan terms and conditions to suppliers/dealers, especially small trading partners, who often have limited access to a source of funds. Bualuang iSupply uses a security system that is aligned with international standards and uses 2-Factor Authentication.
Bualuang e-Guarantee
The Bank provides electronic letter of guarantee services supported by blockchain technology, covering nine types of letters of guarantee. Customers can themselves request trading partners to issue an e-Guarantee online and they can view the guarantee status report 24/7, and receive notification of the issuance of the e-Guarantee and notification of the expiration date of the e-Guarantee via email. Our electronic guarantee-issuing service provides greater convenience and saves time for entrepreneurs, helping them run their businesses smoothly and efficiently while reducing costs.
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