Content first published by Global Finance on 3 June 2022
DBS Bank worked to transform how banks operate and markets function in Asia. The bank’s products provide commercial and retail customers with more-seamless processes. The bank is proceeding to digitalize Asia’s capital markets, starting with its FIX Marketplace product for the fixed income markets. This fully digital and automated execution platform is the first where issuers can connect directly with investors. This product is working to create a more inclusive and accessible market.
Working with different technologies, DBS is developing innovative products like its 24/7 multicurrency payment settlement on Partior. Partior is the first live permissioned, blockchain-based clearing and settlement platform for commercial bank money. This platform prevents cross-border payments from needing to travel through a network of banks and time zones. It thereby eliminates associated inefficiencies. Instead, Partior uses a programmable real-time value transfer that eliminates friction in cross-border payment processing.
DBS developed solutions for the country’s biggest industries. Close to 50 million tons of marine fuel was sold in Singapore in 2020, and DBS is the first bank to finance bunker fuel deliveries with a digital bunker delivery note rather than a physical copy. This solution eliminates potential human error due to manual processes and incorporates real-time data connectivity.
To be more sustainable, the bank is changing how it does business. Its full-service branches now use the Internet of Things and robotics, integrating these with live-streamed video analytics data, to augment tasks typically performed by branch staff. DBS is also facilitating processes for customers. Among such processes are the bank’s electronic document verification that leverages AI, and biometric authentication for the Hong Kong government-issued identity card. Now, customers can open accounts in about 10 minutes.
DBS Bank claims innovation in its DNA, and 2021 was no exception. Notable launches included an automated fixed-income execution (FIX) platform, where issuers can directly connect with investors—a first in Asia. Along with JPMorgan Chase and Temasek, DBS was behind Partior, the first live permissioned blockchain-based clearing and settlement platform for commercial bank money. DBS became the first bank in the market to finance bunker fuel-shipment deliveries using a digital bunker delivery note (eBDN); the first bank in Singapore to integrate video analytics with robotics for oversight and customer meet-and-greets at self-service branches 24/7; the first bank in Taiwan to enable customers to link their Economy Stimulus Vouchers to their credit card, using the DBS social media platform; the developer of QR code deposits via ATM; the first end-to-end comprehensive digital solution for credit card applications in Hong Kong; an industry first to offer a seamless straight-through journey from customer onboarding to instant US stock trading. Behind the scenes, DBS launched Client Connect—the first all-in-one, AI- and data-driven customer-relationship management platform to help frontline relationship managers and investment consultants to prioritize their call lists based on data and algorithms.
Asia’s Safest Bank, 2009 – 2023, Global Finance
Best Bank in the World 2022, Global Finance
World's Best Bank 2021, Euromoney
Best Bank in the World 2020, Global Finance
World's Best Bank 2019, Euromoney
Global Bank of the Year 2018, The Banker
