It's high time for Bangladeshi banks and other non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to upgrade their technology. With banking technology rapidly evolving and customer needs changing, bankers, regulators, and industry leaders need to pave the way toward integrating banking into the Smart Bangladesh Vision 2041.
Intellect Design Arena Ltd, a cutting-edge FinTech company serving the world's leading financial and insurance institutions, recently organized a Thought Leadership event, titled “Design Thinking for Digital Enterprise”, specifically for tech-savvy bankers in Bangladesh.
Participants emphasized that Digital Enterprise transformation goes beyond simply moving processes to the cloud or creating mobile-friendly interfaces.
The event, held in collaboration with Sonali Intellect Limited, a prominent financial technology company in Bangladesh and Intellect’s Joint Venture in the country, took place at Hotel Intercontinental in Dhaka.
More than 50 top leaders from the Bangladesh banking sector gathered at the event. They discussed the journey toward a Digital Enterprise for banks, emphasizing a holistic redesign to ensure that all operations are easily accessible across various devices and centralized platforms.
During his keynote address, Debdulal Roy, executive director of Bangladesh Bank, said that digital transformation presents an array of opportunities for banks in Bangladesh. By harnessing the power of digital technologies, banks can not only enhance customer experience but also drive operational efficiency and tap into previously underserved market segments.
“This is crucial in a country where rural communities often lack access to traditional bank branches. The digital platform allows individuals to conveniently manage their finances and engage in transactions, promoting financial literacy and inclusion,” he added.
Commenting on the event, Ramanan SV, director of Sonali Intellect Intellect Design Arena, said: “This confluence of industry visionaries and experts brought together a wealth of ideas on how financial institutions can digitally empower themselves to get ready to be the next-gen powerhouses. Sonali Intellect has been dedicated to delivering innovative solutions to develop customer experience.
“With over three decades of deep domain expertise, Intellect is the brand that progressive financial institutions rely on for digital transformation initiatives. We serve over 270 Customers in 57 Countries, offering composable and contextual technology powered by eMACH.ai architecture in various business verticals, including Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance and Capital Markets,” he added.
After setting the context for the evening, Ramanan outlined the advent of a new era of progressive and innovative technology that will transform the way banks operate and provide value to their customers.
His address was followed by two-panel discussions on Banks Becoming Digital Marketplaces - Business and Technology.
The panels were hosted by esteemed speakers - Mohammad Kaykobad, professor of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET); Subash Chandra Das, deputy managing director, Sonali Bank; Mohammad Jahangir, managing director and CEO Rupali Bank; Raju Daryani, EVP Intellect Design Arena; and moderated by Ramanan SV.
Discussants at the event also said, Bangladesh's banking and insurance industry sector will play a significant role in the Smart Bangladesh Vision 2041 - creating a future forward country. Bangladesh ranks as the fastest-growing economy in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and across all frontier markets, with a 10-year gross domestic product (GDP) compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1%, a July 2023 report by World Economics found.
With a July 2022 report from the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) projecting that Bangladesh’s smartphone penetration will rise to 63% by 2025, digital lenders can reasonably expect the total addressable market (TAM) they serve to balloon over the coming years.
With this meteoric rise, banking and financial industry customers will become more demanding and the technology that the banks need to cater to this changing customer can only be done through a digital transformation. This opens a pool of opportunities for banks to invest more in cutting-edge technology and partnerships.
Banks in Bangladesh aspire to focus on enabling sustainable, inclusive, and innovative banking powered by emerging generative AI and exponential technologies. Building a digital enterprise is the first step to becoming a cognitive enterprise. At Intellect, they pioneered this significant transformation phase—BankTech (Banking Technology) Wave 5 —to offer banks and financial institutions the opportunity to excel and become Digital and Cognitive Enterprises.
Entering the fifth wave of BankTech
The current wave of banking technology, known as the fifth wave, began with the advent of cloud computing. This era has witnessed the development of marketplaces and ecosystems that integrate various services and applications. This connectivity has spurred collaboration and innovation, giving rise to new business models and opportunities.
In this wave, banks must embrace technological advancements like cloud computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to unlock growth potential. It's crucial for banks to establish robust architectures, define microservices effectively, integrate AI into operations, and prioritize data utilization to maintain competitiveness and ensure regulatory compliance.
Introducing Intellect's 'First Principles' technology suite, eMACH.ai
Intellect Design Arena Ltd. offers the “First Principles” Technology suite, eMACH.ai, designed to empower tech-savvy banks and financial institutions to become Digital and Cognitive Enterprises, unlocking exponential growth possibilities. This suite prioritizes the customer, whether they are Retail, HNI, SME, or Corporate clients, focusing on their financial journey events, operations-driven events, and regulatory requirements.
Financial institutions leverage eMACH.ai's microservices architecture to orchestrate offerings tailored to customer needs and regulatory standards, ensuring customer satisfaction and compliance.
