DBS Hong Kong wins Fintech award at HKB Technology Excellence Awards 2022

The leading financial services group in Asia redefines how SMEs can meet their working capital needs for business growth by plugging into their partners’ ecosystems and obtaining the merchants’ consent to share e-commerce data.

Since it has been challenging for Chinese-based merchants with trading entities in Hong Kong to cross the border during the pandemic, DBS has developed a differentiated and easy-to-use trade solution to support SME merchants’ growing need for working capital. This has been made possible through a collaboration with two of China's leading e-commerce logistics platforms, JD Logistics and Cainiao.

DBS’ innovative solution leverages platform data and API connectivity, both seamlessly integrated into JDL and Cainiao’s platforms—providing their SME merchants with a one-stop shop for their financing needs.

This solution brings an exceptional digital banking experience to merchants by allowing them to obtain credit without needing to visit a DBS branch in Hong Kong whilst still having the necessary checks and balances via account opening, customer identification, and verification over video conference.

End-to-end digital experience

Through its alternative lending trade solution, e-commerce merchants can enjoy an end-to-end digital experience with fund disbursal in as little as 15 minutes. This serves the need for working capital during the cash conversion cycle in the growing e-commerce sector.

Traditionally, payment terms with overseas suppliers are mostly on a cash-on-delivery or advanced payment basis. As goods usually take months to be transported and distributed, the solution has hence greatly improved the efficiency of the supply chain for imported products and merchants’ cash flow, which they need to finance their ongoing business operations.

Making banking invisible

In terms of the customer journey, JDL and Cainiao’s merchants do not need to leave their e-commerce or supply chain platform to apply for financing from DBS. Once they have obtained the credit facility from DBS, merchants can view their available balances and outstanding loans, as well as initiate drawdowns on a pool of eligible assets with just one click. All this is enabled by API connectivity between DBS and the platforms. The pool of financing that customers can draw on is dynamically updated in real-time.

As of June this year, DBS Hong Kong has onboarded numerous e-commerce merchant customers to the program, providing greater access to funding and addressing their working capital pain points. By using authorised merchants’ platform data, they have streamlined the credit approval journey—reducing the turnaround time from weeks to providing as fast as next-day approval.

With these innovations, DBS Hong Kong has clinched the Fintech-Banking award at this year’s HKB Technology Excellence Awards.

Sandy Tan, Head of Ecosystems, Institutional Banking Group at DBS Hong Kong said, “It is a privilege for us to have been recognised in the Fintech-Banking category by the HKB Technology Excellence Awards. Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, we have seen significant growth in SMEs’ need for digital services. By collaborating with our partners, our teams have co-created new ecosystem solutions to meet the changing needs of SMEs. Through leveraging alternative data and our digital capabilities, we have supported our customers with timely working capital and enhanced their supply chain resiliency. Looking forward, we remain committed to pushing the envelope and finding new ways to innovate and transform the customer journey.”

The awards program honours outstanding companies that have made exceptional contributions through the most innovative and unique IT initiatives and solutions that have enhanced their company's business in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Business Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Hong Kong Business Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2023 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding contributions in pursuit of technological innovation, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].