ASEAN Financial Innovation Network's managing director talks with finews.asia about how he wants to help fintechs and financial institutions quickly prototype solutions.
«The process of innovation is neverending. What is difficult today is the road to innovation,» said Manish Diwaan, ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) managing director, in an interview with finews.asia.
Diwaan is responsible for the overall strategy of the fintech sandbox run by AFIN, a not-for-profit organization established in 2018 by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the ASEAN Bankers Association.
According to Diwaan, the process of creating a proof-of-concept for a fintech solution takes a financial institution 8-12 months, because of onboarding, legal, NDA, creating infrastructure for POC, creating information security clearances, etc., which slows down their ability to quickly iterate and make decisions on potential solutions.
Facilitating Innovation
AFIN's flagship API Exchange (APIX) ecosystem is a global fintech marketplace for vendors to match with potential clients.
«There's a huge demand for fintech solutions among financial institutions but the process of creating a proof-of-concept takes too long. The APIX platform helps showcase the fintechs' capabilities and helps financial institutions cut through the process of innovation,» Diwaan explains.
Using the platform, a financial institution can design a prototype using its own APIs with fintech vendor(s) that suit its requirements «in a matter of days». The two parties can then make a decision about whether to pursue the project.
Successful Matches
There are now more than 100 fintechs from 26 countries and close to 50 financial institutions from 16 countries on the platform, with numerous successful matches that have already moved to the development stage.
The platform has signed a number of MOUs in recent months to expand its reach, including with India and Hong Kong. «We hope to reach out to the fintechs through these associations and offer them something in return when they come on board. The MOUs help us reach out to them, because there's a huge demand we have to cater to,» he explained.
Advice for Fintechs
Diwaan advises fintech vendors that want to work with financial institutions to constantly update their API and profiles, and to be visible on the APIX platform.
«We are giving you a platform where you don't need to go cold calling or knocking on doors. You cut through that whole process by being here, and you can let industry partners explore your offerings.»
