Day two of Money20/20 Asia 2024 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok served up an array of captivating discussions and insights.
In our second roundup from the global event, Richie Santosdiaz brings you his highlights from Thailand.
Payments focus
Over on the Vision stage, we enjoyed the ‘Global Payment Trends: Asia’s QR Revolution, Europe’s Open Banking Wave, America’s Card Domnance – Who Will Triumph?’ panel.
This discussion between Zubin Rada Krishnan, Group CEO from BigPay, Andreas Kurniawan, chief digital and analytics officer from Bank Danamon Indonesia and Phil Pomford, SVP and general manager, global enterprise e-commerce – Asia Pacific from Worldpay, and moderated by Rachel Morissey, head of content, USA Money20/20 delved into hot topics including open banking in Europe, the QR Revolution in Asia as well as the US’s card dominance.
Managing small businesses
In another keynote session – ‘Empowering Small Businesses: A Vision Beyond Wall Street’, we heard from the founder and chairman of Micro Connect, Hong Kong’s latest unicorn backed by Li Ka-shing and Adrian Cheng. The session explored innovative approaches for micro and small businesses globally, defying traditional financial models.
Insights into Micro Connect’s Southeast Asia expansion showcased its commitment to global empowerment. “Investments should never be about equity. Never be about credit, at least for this part of the universe. They need to be daily revenues,” said Charles Li, founder and chairman, Micro Connect.
Asian trends
We delved into a keynote panel called ‘Redefining the Filipino Financial Frontier: Pioneers Transforming Money’s Future in the Philippines’, which explored the remarkable rise of GCash in the Philippines. Speaker Ernest Cu, president & CEO of Globe was then joined by Pebbles Sy, chief technology and operations officer of GCash and Douglas Feagin, president of Ant International, as they shared insights into making the most of technology, partnerships and digitalisation to unlock fintech opportunties.
A keynote Fireside chat hosted by Danny Levy from Money20/20 with Kattiya Indaravijaya from Kasikornbank engaged us by exploring the region’s future financial landscape. Indaravijaya commented: “Cross-border collaboration between KBank and DBS Bank in Thailand and Singapore
has increased digital transactions by 40 per cent within five years. This trend addresses challenges related to customer needs. Another trend in Thailand is the rise in combating fraudulent activities aimed at protecting customer money and accounts.”
Elsewhere at Money20/20
I had the chance to try The Money Run, a fun activity in the Money Arcade. It’s a VR 4-player game that consisted of walking around a maze to get the most coins in 90 seconds (I won and chose a T-shirt as my reward)!
Announced at Money20/20 Asia
- PLDT (Philippines Long Distance Telphone Company)-backed Maya Bank has partnered with Tala, the world’s first fintech company for the Global Majority, to channel P2.75billion ($48million) worth of loans to more Filipinos with access to credit.
- KBank teams up with J.P. Morgan to launch Project Carina, an initiative utilising Q-money (Thai Baht e-Money on blockchain) and JPM Coin. Q-money operates by Kasikornbank on Quarix, a blockchain operated by Orbix Technology and Innovation Co., Ltd., a company under Kasikornbank financial conglomerate, while JPM Coin is a product where USD deposit accounts are recorded on a private, permissioned blockchain ledger.
Time for networking
Throughout the Money20/20 events, attendees typically encounter numerous networking opportunities. However, a standout highlight of day two was the Money Under Moonlight event—an evening reception held at Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park. Attendees experienced an enchanting celebration of Asia’s diverse cultures amid a mesmerising display of lanterns and candles.
