The Open Vault, the FinTech and Innovation
unit of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (OCBC Bank) has been official unveiled by Malaysia
Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Vice President of Growth Ecosystem
Development Encik Norhizam Kadir.
Encik Norhizam said
the creation of the Bank’s unit on the 27th floor of Wisma Lee
Rubber, Jalan Melaka, is expected to drive OCBC Bank’s progression into the
digital era.
“We
are pleased to see OCBC Bank committing itself to an initiative that seeks to engage
more deeply with FinTech companies globally,” he said.
The
move is expected to act as a catalyst for the burgeoning FinTech segment.
According
to OCBC Bank Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Ong Eng Bin, partnership with
FinTechs is growing to become an invaluable part of the Bank’s problem-solving
approach, and the setting up of the physical office will lend impetus to realising
its objectives.
(L-R): Dato’ Ong Eng Bin, Chief Executive Officer of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad; Mr Fabian Lim, Head of The Open Vault at OCBC Malaysia; Mr Pranav Seth, Regional Head of The Open Vault at OCBC; Encik Norhizam Kadir, Vice President of Growth Ecosystem Development of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC); and Tuan Syed Abdul Aziz Syed Kechik, Chief Executive Officer of OCBC Al-Amin at the official launch of The Open Vault.
“Digitalisation
and innovation are not new to us at OCBC Bank. In fact, we have been deepening
our digitalisation efforts significantly over the past few years. The Open Vault will be dedicated to
activities that engage the expertise of the FinTech community,” he said.
Dato’ Ong added that The Open Vault, as OCBC Bank’s FinTech and Innovation Unit, is
tasked with redefining banking through co-innovation with FinTech firms around
the globe.
“The Open
Vault is now our very own hub for experimentation. It will serve to
validate new ideas and shape the Bank of the future with a focus on offering
seamless customer experience, harnessing the power of data and establishing an
enriched journey for our customers.”
Earlier
this year, The Open Vault partnered
with two US-based FinTech companies, Ondot Systems Inc and EZMCOM Inc, to
explore innovative approaches to tackling two long-standing banking challenges.
The challenges put forward to
the two FinTech companies have to do, respectively, with embedding the Bank
into the lifestyle spending journey of urban customers in Malaysia, and
adoption of non-traditional methods to identify and authenticate a customer’s
identity and business operations without any face-to-face interaction. If all goes well, the results of the collaborative
efforts with Ondot
Systems and EZMCOM on technology experimentations will serve as a guide for
commercialising the technology solution at a later time.
OCBC Bank had before that announced
it is embarking
on a year-long regulatory sandbox testing of a Secure Chat Banking Mobile Application
following approval to do so from BNM under the Financial Technology Regulatory
Sandbox Framework. If successful, the OCBC Secure Chat Banking Mobile App will
become the country’s first banking solution to enable premier banking customers
to communicate with, and give financial transaction instructions to, their
relationship managers securely via a mobile app.
On the business
banking front, OCBC Bank earlier announced a tie-up with Peoplender Sdn Bhd
(Peoplender) to enhance access to financing for micro, small and new
businesses. The effort is operationalised through Peoplender’s wholly-owned
peer-to-peer financing platform Fundaztic.com, which is licensed by the
Securities Commission. The collaboration sees OCBC Bank referring to Peoplender
viable SMEs seeking wider financing options to enhance and support their
business growth.
Details
on The Open Vault are available at http://theopenvaultatocbc.com/
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About OCBC Bank
OCBC Bank is the longest established
Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest
of which was founded in 1912. It is now the second largest financial services
group in Southeast Asia by assets and one of
the world’s most highly-rated banks, with an Aa1 rating from Moody’s.
Recognised for its financial strength and stability, OCBC Bank is consistently
ranked among the World’s Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been
named Best Managed Bank in Singapore by The Asian Banker.
OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries offer a broad
array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management
services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction
banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.
OCBC Bank’s key markets are Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has more than 570 branches and
representative offices in 18 countries and regions. These include over 310
branches and offices in Indonesia under subsidiary Bank OCBC NISP, and more
than 100 branches and offices in Hong Kong, China and Macao under OCBC Wing
Hang.
OCBC Bank’s private banking services are
provided by its wholly-owned subsidiary Bank of Singapore, which
operates on a unique open-architecture product platform to source for the
best-in-class products to meet its clients’ goals.
OCBC Bank's insurance subsidiary, Great
Eastern Holdings, is the oldest and most established life insurance group in
Singapore and Malaysia. Its asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors,
is one of the largest private sector asset management companies in Southeast
Asia.
OCBC Bank offers Islamic
banking products and services in Malaysia through its wholly-owned subsidiary,
OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad.
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