DBS delivers game-changing SME digital banking experience

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SMEs’ pain points when it comes to banking are well known — the difficulties in opening a bank account and obtaining timely loans to bridge their financing gap. “This is DBS digibanking” is DBS’ SME digital banking initiative that addresses exactly the pain points of SMEs in accessing banking services.

“On the whole, ‘This is DBS digibanking’ is about enabling SMEs, which account for more than 98 per cent of Hong Kong’s businesses, to build resilience amid Covid-19, and thrive in a post-pandemic economy through intuitive, intelligent and invisible digital banking,” said Sebastian Paredes, CEO at DBS Hong Kong. 
 

Innovative fintech addressing SME pain points
“This is DBS digibanking” includes the ability for Hong Kong companies in simple business structures such as private limited liability company to open a business account completely digitally in as quickly as three working days. This addresses a key SME customer pain point, and also supports the need for social distancing and contact-free banking amid Covid-19. 

“Not only does it make it easy for SMEs in simple business structures to open an account with us in as fast as three working days, all done digitally without setting foot in a branch, our online banking does all other things – all the way from account opening and personalised online banking platform to loan application, trade finance, security services and so forth,” said Nimish Panchmatia, Head of Global Transaction Services at DBS. 

Hong Kong SMEs in simple structures can apply for a business account by submitting required documents, followed by taking a short video of the HKID card of directors and shareholders of a limited company incorporated in Hong Kong, online. The backend AI system then validates the authenticity of the HKID card and checks them against the live video taken by the applicant. This is how the document submission and identity authentication are automated, he explained.