Financial services tech predictions 2013: Asia

FST Media
22 January 2013

The FST Media team has collated the top tips from analysts, experts and industry on what you can expect from technology in 2013.

Customer engagement critical

– Customers throughout Asia will be increasingly willing to move banks this year (East & Partners Report).

– Banks need to understand a customer’s business and industry, which is the single most important initiative to improve service quality. (East & Partners Report)

– The vagaries of asset quality and uncertainty in regional and individual economies means that bank performance will depend on customers’ business success, according to Lachlan Colquhoun, Head of Markets Analysis, East & Partners. (East & Partners Report)

– The Philippines and Indonesian economies are expected to be standouts, but banks will need to be prepared to understand the unique challenges in each country, Lachlan Colquhoun, Head of Markets Analysis, East & Partners. (East & Partners Report)

Mobile innovation is key

– Mobile innovation will be the key engagement channel in 2013. (Computer Weekly)

– Mobile payments are expected to soar in 2012. Global mobile payment revenue will grow to $998.5 billion by 2016. NFC payments are expected to play a substantial role in that growth, making it one of the most popular ways in which customers will transact with banks in the future. (Balkans.com)

– Smart phones are becoming cheaper, making it possible to reach out to previously ‘unbanked’ customers via mobile platforms. There is potential for a low-priced iPhone to enter emerging markets, which can be expected to grow the user base engaging with their banks through mobile apps. (ComputerWorld)

Gamification will become more important

– South East Asia is expected to have 100 million gamers by 2014. Reaching out to that audience will be an additional marketing opportunity, and provide banks with more data on their customers. (Business Inquirer)

C-Suite roles shift in 2013

– The CMO will play a greater role in an organisation’s technology, and will work more closely with the CIO than ever before. (IDC)

– The CMO and the CIO will begin the year as functional peers and end the year as either friends or frenemies, and the CIO will become more actively involved with the CMO in all marketing automation decisions that have cross-functional implications. (IDC)

– Starting in 2013, after the CMO realizes that he/she does not have the skill sets in place for data analytics proficiency, 50 per cent of new marketing hires will have technical backgrounds. (IDC)

– By the end of 2013, five per cent of CMOs will shift to a "mobile first" strategy. (IDC)

– The CIO’s own role is expected to become more strategic and focus less on the operational side of a bank’s IT infrastructure. Collaboration with the marketing teams will be critical. (FST Media)

– Gartner predicts 35 per cent of IT spending will occur outside the IT function by 2015. Marketing will account for most of this, putting CMOs at the heart of mobile, social, cloud and information.