Digitalisation

Treasury teams are digitising fast — now they want regulators to catch up. While digital wallets may be surging in the retail space, B2B payments and cross-border processes remain hamstrung by regulatory inertia.

China is accelerating the international rollout of its digital yuan, shifting focus from retail trials to programmable, cross-border use cases. As treasurers weigh the strategic implications, new pilots and infrastructure moves suggest the e-CNY may soon play a more central role.

Many Asian corporates, such as Tata International, are taking a leading global role in trade finance digitisation as they look to boost balance sheets and ensure continued access to credit.

DBS and UOB are providing a $411m loan for a joint project from Singapore data centre developer DayOne and the Indonesia Investment Authority; the aim is to supply 5% of Indonesia’s projected data centre capacity by 2029.

The plan is to launch an integrated digital trade corridor to connect China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines

JP Morgan Payments' global head of treasury services discussed how Apac corporate payments are evolving, including the drive for real-time, digital wallets, APIs and blockchain.

The idea is to harness the HKMA's Commercial Data Interchange to help improve access for SMEs to trade finance.

With more fast and cheap options in the region's payments universe, transaction banks must now layer added services to remain competitive.

Adnan Zaylan Mohamad Zahid, deputy governor at the Bank Negara Malaysia, told an audience at Money 20/20 Asia that Asean is innovating with cross-border payments, QR codes, Project Nexus, sandboxes and Islamic finance.

The global economy is going through unprecedented times and expert panelists from Baguio Green Group, SF Reit Asset Management and HSBC discussed how to best manage the volatility.

The Mongolian national payment card has teamed up with a HK provider to be accepted in Hong Kong; the move is led by Mongolbank.

Jennifer Barker, global head of treasury services and depositary receipts at BNY, recently discussed cross-border and instant payments, collaboration, Swift, AI, trade finance, and more, with CT.