According to the EY Future Consumer Index, consumers in Southeast Asia have turned to digital channels to meet their financial needs following restrictions on mobility and physical contact. To the credit of traditional financial institutions, these have responded by leveraging new technologies to broaden customer engagement across customers’ preferred channels.Similarly, insurers have ramped up their digital efforts, shifting to online and migrating to the cloud. Fund houses and distributors have tapped into Fintech to improve the customer experience, beef up direct-to-consumer capabilities and gain access to the broad range of data needed to decode today’s fast-moving and interconnected markets.18 months into the COVID-19 as things have settled down, we take a look at where things are in the region’s financial services industry. In today’s PodChats for FutureCIO, we speak to Junta Nakai, global industry leader of financial services and sustainability at Databricks, on where things are in the financial services industry.Junta Nakai, Global Industry Leader of Financial Services and Sustainability at DatabricksPodChats for FutureCIO: Junta, welcome to PodChats for FutureCIO.1. What is the difference, if any, between what digital transformation in the financial services industry looked like before and during COVID-19?2. There is a greater use of big words like “hyper-personalised experiences”, banking-as-a-service, and now wealth-as-a-service, what do these trends really mean from the perspective of (a) the customer; (b) the regulator; and (c) the financial institutions themselves?3. There is a lot of musings around data-driven financial services. What does a data-driven financial service look like, and how do you make this operational at a financial institution?4. I spoke to a digital-only bank and I was told that as a business, they outsource most of their operational and technology needs. The result is a very small team. Is this concept of an entirely outsourced model of banking operations sustainable? a. How will it stack up against the incumbent that is able to direct its resources to a narrow focus?b. When talent is a scare resource, and employees look for stability. How can these digital-native, outsource everything business-models compete for talent?c. For incumbents, how do they attract and retain talent that is receptive to the use of data to drive business growth?5. We’ve started to see tech companies and non-financial services enter the market starting with payments and loans. How can financial services compete and thrive in such a marketplace?6. When technology has such a strong influence in how financial services is delivered, will it dehumanise the banking experience?

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