The combination of "digital" & "human" transforms SCB Easy into a Financial Mall.
“Under the Digital 25 plan, it will be an extension of SCB Easy. If we go back several years ago to the trend of Mobile Banking, we will focus on competing to build a customer base through this channel, who is more than who. But in this era, it is an era where Mobile Banking must be able to generate income for the bank.”
After a major organizational restructuring, it became a holding company for the SCB X Group, currently Siam Commercial Bank. It became one of the businesses under the holding of the mothership. This change causes the work structure to change in a big way.
The Siam Commercial Bank has announced its own vision, which is to be “Digital Bank with Human Touch” The North Star strategy determines the organization's direction towards a digital bank. With an important mission to be “The number one digital bank in wealth management. Ready to provide a service experience that is seamlessly connected across all channels.”
Under the North Star of Important Goals The development of digital channels is one of the important forces that will bring Siam Commercial Bank Go to the goal by Dr. Charlie Asawatheeratham, Senior Deputy General Manager Chief Executive Officer, Group Digital Banking is an important force that will accelerate Siam Commercial Bank's transformation into a digital bank.
Dr. Charlie joins Siam Commercial Bank. in April 2563 in the position of Senior Deputy General Manager Chief Executive Officer, DATA Group, before joining the bank Dr. Charlie has experience working in leading companies both domestically and abroad. Previously held the position of Chief Research Officer with WorldQuant, managing a team of researchers and Data Scientists around the world in 14 countries.
Has experience working in Quantitative Trading as a Portfolio Manager at Merril Lynch in New York and Sun Trading in Chicago. He was a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company, Bangkok and London branches. and is an Analytics Engineer at Pivotal Systems Corporation.
Dr. Charlie received a Royal Scholarship (King's Scholarship) and graduated with a bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Electrical and Computer Engineering United States
hold Data helps generate income.
Dr. Charlie gave an interview "Bank Finance" that after receiving a scholarship to study, he was able to work with a foreign company in the United States that was an investment company using technology systems This is a business that is primarily related to investment technology. It may not be very IT intensive. But it is about using technology to predict investments. Even when the parent company expanded its business into Thailand, it took on the responsibility of taking care of it.
which made it possible to meet Athit Nanthawittaya Chief Executive Officer of SCB Because at that time the Siam Commercial Bank was moving forward with its strategy. Transformation Investing has been made to build a foundation in data to set up a data lake because SCB has many data sources but has not yet been able to fully utilize them. Therefore, I would like to join the event so that I can help use the information that I have to create benefits.
“In the beginning when I joined Siam Commercial Bank, I started with the role of Chief Data and changed to Digital Banking, which is a semi-technology user job. It's not exactly IT work. From data work, it began to become involved with business. The two jobs differ in that data helps build the foundation for the organization. But digital banking is to create financial products using that data. Both digital loans (Digital Lending) or other products It is about using data to generate income directly.”
Dr. Charlie said that Siam Commercial Bank's Digital Banking line is a combination of many elements. To create products such as digital loans (Digital Loan), digital wealth management (Digital Wealth) and insurance. If customers want to apply for the service, they can apply through the SCB Easy application. But once they apply, what do they do for the customer? Get a response quickly Therefore, there must be a data analysis component (Data) that must include a team of Data Scientists and Data Marketing.
The Data Scientist team works with the important problem of moving beyond traditional bank work processes to digital. If it were a traditional process, it would require documents and people. Before starting the process of considering loans that may not be approved Even though customers wasted a lot of time filling out and preparing documents.
But under the new normal, the work process must come up with a new format that uses AI to provide a quick initial approval system. When receiving a loan request from a customer, there will be an answer immediately. Approved or not? If approved, what is the credit limit and what is the interest rate? Another important element is the platform, both SCB Easy and SCB Connect.
“Two years ago, the bank experimented with implementing a fully digital credit analysis process by applying AI to data in Siam Commercial Bank's existing data lake. Calculate the credit limit given to customers in advance. Just when bank customers come in and apply for a loan, they will receive the credit limit immediately. Called Up, it grew very quickly, adding 2 customers in less than a year.”
Restructure Accelerate development AI
Dr. Charlie further said that after the organizational restructuring of the SCB The bank will focus on middle to upper income groups. By allowing other companies in the group to do unsecured loan business, the unsecured loan portfolio has been gradually transferred to SCB Home, car loans, and business loans
“Recently, we have just launched a new product, a revolving loan for small SMEs, called UP Instant Money, which has received a very good response. It is still a loan with quick approval results and almost no need to submit paper documents. As a result, there is a credit limit of 1,000 million baht released from more than XNUMX customers. Ensuring that AI will be something that banks must continuously accelerate.”
Dr. Charlie also said that As for the digital bank's plan going forward, it is called "Digital 25" which is in line with Siam Commercial Bank's main strategy, which is to move towards "Digital Bank with Human Touch" in 2025, where the bank must be good at Wealth and Omni Channel. That is, many channels must provide seamless service. Including that there must be 25% of revenue from digital channels by 2025, which means Of new retail loans that will be released by 2025, 90% must be digital using AI, including home loans, car loans, and business loans.
“Under the Digital 25 plan, it will be an extension of SCB Easy. If we go back several years ago to the trend of Mobile Banking, we will focus on competing to build a customer base through this channel, who is more than who. But in this era, it is an era where Mobile Banking must be able to generate income for the bank.”
Currently, Siam Commercial Bank has over 16 million users of Mobile Banking or SCB Easy, with 7,000 million transactions per year. Representing a total of 16 trillion baht per year. In which customers using the Mobile Banking channel account for 90% of the bank's customers. And from the rapid growth of digital loans that the bank has made in the past, it reflects that the bank's customers, who are good customers, demand fast, convenient service, but must not ask for redundant information because they are already customers of the bank.
“In the future, customers will feel that If you are a good customer, SCB loans will be the easiest to apply for. It has the best management because it uses AI in the process. Give customers more opportunities to access credit. Customers who do not have a salary account will receive convenience. Business customers will have access to more sources of money than before. It will be interest based on Risk Base Pricing. Customers receive interest according to the risk of each customer. It is not traditional price competition.”
Dr. Charlie also said that Creating products in digital channels Starting with unsecured loans first and then expanding to cover secured loans as well. Both home loans and car loans. The challenge with secured loans is the involvement of outside agencies. We will adjust the new work process for any loans that require collateral. We will use the AI consideration process to allow approval of the loan first to determine whether or not it is not. If you get it, how much will it get until you reach the final step involving other agencies, such as the Land Department, which is a process that switches from the past where the price had to be assessed before going into the loan approval process?
However, loan products include personal loans. Car loans and home loans will gradually be offered on digital channels. Investment and insurance purchases will also be released. But the problem is how to make it a service that is as Digital Bank with Human Touch as possible, that is, it must be a service that, even if customers use digital channels, still feels that there is a human involved. And there is confidence that services through digital channels are no different from care provided by human RM, which will include services provided by various channels as well. No matter which channel the customer changes to contact the bank, they will be able to connect to the same matter seamlessly as if every channel has the same brain.
“Being a Human Touch, banks must build trust. Find things that match the hearts of customers Especially when it comes to investing, it is a matter that requires high confidence. Nowadays, there may be recommendations for investing in digital, but how to recommend them correctly? The presentation is more personalized for each customer than before.”
Dr. Charlie further said that Although the goal is to gradually develop SCB Easy to generate income until reaching the goal of 25% digital income by 2025, for this year the bank will focus on stability and security for users as important. There will be increased security of the system as specified by the Bank of Thailand (BoT), such as facial scanning for transactions. Including the ability to support the volume of transactions will be expanded to be flexible and able to accept periods with very high transactions such as the end of the month. Including reducing system disruptions with 99.9% no disruptions by the end of this year.
And after stability and security have been dealt with The bank will create value in Mobile Banking with plans to develop it into a smart Financial Mall. SCB Easy will be a Financial Super App where customers can transfer, top up and pay as before. and can apply for loans, purchase insurance, and even plan for retirement This is in line with the bank's plan to become a Digital Wealth that helps increase wealth for customers, no matter how much money the customer has, they will be able to create wealth.
“Developing SCB Easy into a Financial Mall is like building a department store. But it is a department store where when customers come in, they can choose from a variety of bank financial products as they want. and are ready to allow other companies in the SCB
Dr. Charlie also said that Strengthening the development of Siam Commercial Bank's digital channels Not only aiming to achieve the goals that have been set But it is preparation for the new battlefield that will come in the next 3 years, namely Virtual Banking players. If the bank is ready, it will make new players who come in not so scary.
The difference between digital banking and virtual banking is that virtual banking has no people at all in the entire process, no branches, like being in the air. But for Siam Commercial Bank, there are still branches, but they have to do what new players can do. Must be equally sensitive and have confidence in remaining human.
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