Citi’s Asia Pacific Financial Institutions Roadshow kicked off its ASEAN leg in Manila with the aim of sharing thought leadership amidst increasing customer demand for real time and the “always-on” experience.
The event was hosted by the Citi Philippines Services business and had around 80 delegates from 15 financial institutions participating.
Citi Philippines Treasury and Trade Solutions Head Arlene Nethercott credited the bank’s strategic partnerships for driving innovation and responding to client needs, “With the evolving changes in the payments landscape, Citi’s presence in 94 countries enabling access to 135+ currencies in 180 countries, creates a powerful value proposition for the Financial Institution segment as they are empowered to provide a fully automated cross border solution with integrated FX for their clients. This proposition boasts of the ability to payout via instant payment rails in select markets and is continuously being expanded.”
Citi brought experienced subject matter experts from the Services business, including Bryan Murphy, Global Head of Financial Institutions Client Success Management, Cristina Vasile, Global Head of Commercialization for Clearing and Financial Institutions Payments, and Arpit Desai, Global Head of Financial Institutions Liquidity Sales. Also, there were featured speakers from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), including Sharon Toh, Head for ASEAN, and Raffie Javelona, the Head for the Philippines.
Murphy cited personalized and proactive communication, seamless service and continuous innovation as key factors in helping enhance the client experience. He also drew parallels to other industries beyond banking, sharing their best practices so that local banks can glean lessons, and inspired attendees to streamline their operations in a safer, simpler and faster manner.
Vasile emphasized that as the world rapidly undergoes digital transformation, banks need to enable real-time and almost “round-the-clock” service, and Vasile and Desai also shared Citi’s payments and liquidity capabilities that may help banks enable the 24/7 experience for their customers.
Javelona, Head of SWIFT Philippines touched on the global transition to ISO 20022, which is an international standard for electronic data interchange in the financial industry designed to provide a common language for financial institutions to communicate. This necessary transition will ensure operational readiness and help banks have richer, more structured data that will ultimately enhance the end client experience.
The forum showcased a panel discussion moderated by Vasile with speakers Siobhan Ni Ealaithe, Citi’s Global Head of Foreign Correspondent Bank Governance & Oversight, and Sharon Toh, SWIFT’s head of ASEAN Region. During the Q&A segment, the speakers discussed the demand for real-time payments and 24/7 availability and how it is pushing banks to increase the speed of transactions. They also urged banks to continuously enhance their transaction monitoring, compliance and security in parallel.
The event was concluded by Avesh Naicker, Citi Head of Client Success Management in Asia Pacific. He emphasized Citi’s goal to help local banks operate their business with more efficiency, “Citi is always looking for ways in which we can leverage our global network and scale to help our clients achieve business efficiency. We would always strive to make ourselves available to you to enable your business models for the future.”
