Singapore's three biggest banks have all made forays into e-commerce as banking clients increasingly avoid going to bank branches to do their business and spend more time on digital platforms comparing items and loans. Can banks succeed in e-commerce though?
In an attempt to defend their business against e-wallet providers, banks have started doing e-commerce in earnest. Last month, UOB launched a car-buying service promising the fastest loan approval process, as reported on finews.asia.
It is the latest among Singapore’s three big banks to have announced a venture into e-commerce. OCBC started an online platform for mothers in July, while DBS already launched its car marketplace a year ago.
«Many say the tech giants are eating our lunch,» said Dennis Tan, head of consumer financial services at OCBC Bank in a statement. «With mumstruly.com, we intend to wrestle back our share of the pie.»
Up Against Serious Contenders
The shift in bank customers' behavior is one thing. The intention of some Asian tech giants to become banks in their own right is another altogether.
Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant Grab for instance has been granted an e-money license by Malaysia's central bank in December 2017. Another ride-hailing giant in the region – Go-Jek– has acquired three fintech firms to expand its grip on the region’s digital payments business, according to «Tech In Asia».
In China, Ant Financial Services Group (the former Alipay), with roots as an e-commerce company, has become a major platform that provides credit scoring, lending, and investments.
Riskful Adventures
E-commerce experiments are treacherous though, as the example of SingPost showed. The postal service of the city-state in 2011 hired ex-McKinsey partner Wolfgang Baier to reinvent itself as physical mail volumes declined following the advent of email and other digital services.
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