Oriental Bank Plc., Cambodia’s newest bank, has chosen payment provider BPC to power its digital banking experiences.
Being the latest commercial bank to enter Southeast Asia’s banking market, Oriental Bank aims to deliver to both consumers who prefer digital banking as well as those who prefer brick-and-mortar banking experiences. In this way, the bank has positioned itself to be an almost equal split between the two; with a 60 per cent digital, 40 per cent conventional banking approach.
With digital literacy on the rise, Cambodia currently has over $22billion in currency circulation, whilst the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific reports that 15.6 per cent of the population made or received digital payments during 2019. In such a light, the country’s demands for practical digital infrastructure has never been clearer.
BPC’s SmartVista platform will form the backbone of Oriental Bank’s digital banking capabilities, including Know Your Customer (KYC) onboarding, deposit account opening, and funds transfers. It will also be used to power secure end-to-end payment experiences, including QR codes, card issuing, digital loan applications, and other self-service banking channels such as ATM Driving Services.
With the aim of delivering customer-centric financial products to Cambodia, Oriental Bank cited BPC’s P2P services as one of the leading drivers of the partnership. The provider’s P2P services include API connections to third parties, whilst it was also attracted to BPC’s capability to extend the ecosystem further with added value services as the bank grows.
“Oriental Bank is blending technology and the human touch to ensure that we can reach out to customers no matter what touchpoint they use,” comments the bank’s Founder and Managing Director Datuk Phan Ying Tong. “We selected BPC for its extensive understanding of the local market and their competitive speed in delivering a new bank from the ground up. With BPC, we are relying on a strong local partner that will embrace growth and help us scale.”
Terry Paleologos, Managing Director APAC at BPC, added: “BPC has a strong market share and presence in Cambodia with an established local team who are fully equipped to support clients and partners. The demand for a digital lifestyle is palpable; hence we see major transformation projects. However, building a neobank from the ground up is an even more exciting initiative as the foundation will bring digital-first experience to clients who demand it. We are confident that with this partnership, both Oriental Bank and BPC are paving the path towards greatness, together.”
For over 25 years, BPC has enabled over 350 financial institutions in over 100 countries with banking and payment solutions, with Oriental Bank’s partnership now set to fuel the transition of Cambodia’s financial service-scape into the digital era.
