Bangkok--3 Jul--KASIKORNBANK
KASIKORN BUSINESS-TECHNOLOGY GROUP (KBTG), KASIKORNBANK (KBank)'s group of technology-related companies, has won the "Best Innovation Centre by Financial Institution in Thailand" award, granted by The Asian Banker journal. This accolade is proof of how outstanding the group's customer service innovations are, within an administration to build up a corporate culture that accommodates creativity, thus driving the business forward with a unique ability to swiftly adapt to future developments.
Prof. Dr. Pairash Thajchayapong, KBTG Chairman, has stated that KBTG was established to support KBank innovations in tune with KBank's many customer segments to make financial transaction services for them easier, faster and safer via advanced technologies. KBTG policies and their work environment have been designed to facilitate creativity within an atmosphere of a hi-tech haven that fosters staff commitment. Since their establishment in 2016, the group's excellent deliverables offer more responsive services to individual and business clients of KBank.
These efforts have earned KBTG the "Best Innovation Centre by Financial Institution in Thailand" award from The Asian Banker journal, given to financial institutions with clear success in projects or activities that foster enhanced customer service and staff proficiency.
Among the exceptional innovations by KBTG has been the development of services that are now widely accepted by customers, e.g., K PLUS and K PLUS SME mobile applications created by the business strategy, development engineering and UX/UI design teams. Via their teamwork, both mobile applications have become easier to use and more secure, quickly adopted by the KBank customer base of 5.2 million users. Another superb case is the Beacon Interface mobile application for visually-impaired persons that won two awards in the Singapore FinTech Festival 2016, including the "Global FinTech Hackcelerator Award" from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the "Developer Hub Award" granted by Citigroup, a major sponsor of the event. The Beacon Interface will be put into service within this year. There have also been other innovations aimed at facilitating today's wide range of customer lifestyles.
For business clients, KBTG has introduced the use of blockchain technology to certify original documents, based on IBM's infrastructural application, "Hyperledger". A service system called "OriginCert API" has been developed to certify Letters of Guarantee (LG), which allows for fast, accurate and safe processing of LG issuances. This service is available for banks and other partner organizations without having to invest in their own blockchain infrastructure software. With this project, KBank has become Thailand's first bank to employ blockchain technology in financial services.
On the workforce side, KBank has been successful in organizing activities to coach and promote a more innovative culture aimed at encouraging staff to create better services. They started with the interior design of KBTG headquarters which is considered as a "KBank Innovation Campus", to make it a more agile workplace wherein informal work spaces inspire innovations that better respond to business requirements. Monthly seminars are conducted to update staff on new technology trends, and lab seminars are held to experiment with disruptive technologies and explore easier access to financial services. Eventually, quality service solutions are created that will be new income earners for KBank later on.
Prof. Dr. Pairash Thajchayapong also mentioned that this award reflects KBTG's commitment to step forward into the innovations of the future to better operate in perfect accord with changes in consumer behavior. These efforts are hoped will enhance KBank competitiveness and leadership in service technologies, thus helping them to uphold their top-of-mind position within all bank customer segments.