Held in Jakarta, the Asian Banker’s Financial Technology Conference convened foremost thought leaders and industry specialists to examine emerging industry developments and provide insightful perspectives on the future of finance. Against the backdrop of rapid digital change, discussions covered artificial intelligence (AI), embedded finance, open banking, real-time payments, blockchain and the growing promise of quantum computing. Insights from the panels highlighted how these converging technologies are reshaping banking and financial services, while compelling institutions to rethink strategies, governance and customer engagement amid a more complex and competitive environment. AI-powered solutions and big data analytics redefine finance The industry is witnessing accelerated adoption of AI and generative AI (GenAI) models across use cases, improving customer engagement, experience and operational efficiency. Nevertheless, challenges remain, including AI accuracy, hallucinations and the need for organisational change. Managing these risks is vital for banks to realise AI’s benefits responsibly. In this panel discussion, leading AI experts debated whether artificial intelligence signals a golden age of productivity or the commoditisation of banking. They discussed challenges and strategies for future success. Juergen Rahmel, generative AI lecturer, University of Hong Kong noted, “Traditional AI, the more predictive analytical type, was confined to the specialists, to the data scientists, to the analysts in a company. Generative AI brings a totally new aspect into this by being accessible for anyone and everyone.” Regarding hallucinations, he added, “As long as these are based on transformer models, hallucinations will happen. But the good thing is that there is creativity which is useful. Institutions should identify the tool characteristic and the processes where it can help augment operations. Where we need 100% precision, this is a wrong tool.” Erwin Wiriadi, chief risk officer at Union Bank of the Philippines, highlighted AI’s practical benefits and limitations. “Banks can provide hyper-personalised services, automate complex workflows, and reduce fraud.” He cautioned, “AI is only as good as the people designing the business models.” He emphasised the importance of the right data, contextual understanding, business model design and talent. Panellists agreed that AI is an amplifier rather than a replacement of human capability. It requires structured integration while managing risks such as technical debt and skill gaps. AI must be governed by design, not added as an afterthought. Johnson Poh, principal fellow, Singapore University of Technology and Design, stressed the need for governance. “As we design processes, it is equally important to incorporate compliance by design, proper stage gates and mechanisms to ensure AI is without bias.” Tamas Erni, managing partner of Loxon, pointed out the human dimension. “The challenge is to change the mindset, convince the customers and employees to use this.” He advised, “Apply it wisely and apply it step by step so that the organisation can follow and understand what happens and why it happens.” Rahmel added, “AI can augment what you do. It will remove some of the roles, but the tedious part of those roles. Knowing about the processes, knowing the background of financial services, products and services, and knowing how to use new tools such as AI will be the key.” Governance and accountability were core themes throughout. Johnson Poh further commented, “Banks must be able to think like a technology company in adopting AI but at the same time execute and act in accordance with the trust placed on them. They should balance governance with applying AI to drive growth for business, to reap meaningful benefits.” Steve Monaghan, executive chairman of Human AI, summarised, “AI doesn't replace the core, but it eliminates low-value work. In banking, time is money, time is risk. If we're able to execute it and get that competitive advantage, then quality and timeliness will make an incredible difference.” AI and open finance present opportunities for collaboration This session highlighted AI’s role in shifting mindsets toward collaboration, customer-centric value and risk-aware innovation. Regulations must evolve with technology, supporting sandbox experimentation and principles-based governance. Banks must overcome cultural barriers, empower employees, harness data and collaborate in ecosystems to deliver real customer value. Monaghan said, “The first thing is time to value. There should be time to value for the customer and for the institution, time to market and the time to scale. Everything in technology must operate on scale models. Customer-led mindset and value creation is key to success.” Jaspar Roos, co-founder, Limpid & Co observed “AI will not make open finance go faster, but AI brings the mindset that we really must rethink what we do. Move from reactive to proactive mode.” The importance of data and collaborative mindset was discussed as the industry is seeing increased coopetition across the market. Sharing Indonesia’s perspective, Reiner Rinaldi from Indonesian Chambers of Commerce (KADIN) pointed out, “Fintechs have the innovation; banks have the money and the customers and therefore the need to collaborate. If you have a good product and solution, connecting with the banking system can create a quantum leap.” Unlocking growth through embedded finance and Banking-as-a-service Experts discussed the rise of embedded finance and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) that facilitate increased scale, market access, financial inclusion and customer-centric experiences through ecosystem integration and financial products distributed through third-party platforms. This is reshaping the financial value chains. John Kane, chief innovation officer at Tyme Group, described ecosystem-based growth strategy, “Embedded finance has to be win-win-win—between the bank, the partner and the customer. That’s what makes it meaningful and scalable.” He emphasised the need for infrastructural flexibility to integrate with partners’ systems and share data. Rafiza Ghazali, CEO of KAF Digital Bank, shared “Rather than compete for retail customers, we embed our services into partners with existing customer bases.” She stressed the need for mindset shift, on how we can integrate with technology partners. John Medina, chief operating officer, Philippine Bank of Communications, highlighted lending opportunities via supply chains of large conglomerate customers and the need for infrastructure readiness. “We developed a parallel core on cloud that had API (application programming interface) to service these functionalities,” he said. The panel also addressed data privacy challenges, regulatory obligations and infrastructure challenges. Panellists agreed that API readiness, cloud-native systems and flexible integration are critical, especially for legacy banks. Choosing the right partner is fundamental. Transforming global finance with cloud computing and open finance In another session, discussions focused on how cloud, open banking APIs and open finance evolution drive innovation. Cloud is enabling new players to leapfrog growth. Annika Faisal, commissioner at Bank Jago, explained, “We are gaining agility, we can scale at speed and at a reasonable cost. Cloud empowered us to grow exponentially without the limitation of more physical institutions, especially with Indonesian geographical challenges.” She highlighted APIs as enablers of ecosystems—not just infrastructure. Asif Hassan, principal architect, financial services and insurance, Google Cloud added, “Banks are already using Google’s cloud platform and APIs for customer interactions, third-party ecosystem connectivity and internal efficiency. The chassis is already there; knit the car you want to create on top of it.” David Becker, managing director at Mambu, noted the need for speed and agility. He shared examples of how Cake in Vietnam was able to launch in weeks. “The time to market is crucial and given the scale of the demand out there, cross product demand, particularly in the micro financing and wallets, was a big driver for success.” Hassan added that the opportunity is also there for deeper and more meaningful, profitable relationship with customers using data to create new age experiences and have deep connection with customers. Elevating customer experience beyond apps and branches Experts from traditional banks, digital banks and fintechs discussed delivering personalised, inclusive and proactive experiences in a hybrid physical-digital environment. The session covered the role of AI, omnichannel integration, data strategy and how to serve a generationally diverse customer base. John Kane shared their growth, having acquired 11 million customers in South Africa and seven million customers in the Philippines via branchless models. “We are using AI extensively to hyper-personalise services for customers, enabling staff with information as they engage. We’ve moved to proactive, real-time, and personalised offers. This has improved customer experience.” Lito Villanueva, chief innovation and inclusion Officer, RCBC pointed out, “It’s not about the quantity of data, but the quality—turning noise into nuance and transactions into trust.” He highlighted the need to understand customer personas and anticipate future needs. Cary Piantono, chief of risk at DANA, emphasised the importance of trust and risk management. “Banking is a business of trust. We use AI not just for business but to help us detect risks.” The panel advised moving from channels to connected moments, combining phygital experiences with proactive, real-time AI-powered banking. Reimagining payments for frictionless financial future Experts explored the evolving payment technologies shaping a more secure, seamless and inclusive financial ecosystem. Discussions covered real-time settlements, digital identities, blockchain, and ecosystem convergence. Neha Mehta, adjunct professor at Nanyang Technological University shared, “India’s UPI and Indonesia’s Gojek have managed to bring people from offline to online. We’re talking about 1.8 billion unbanked people.” She added, “The beauty of these payment methods is the stickiness. How do we build that stickiness, how do we make it secure, and how do we keep trust and empathy alive, is the key.” Panellists emphasised the critical role of trust, data security, cyber resilience and tokenisation in reducing fraud. Zheng Yudong, former CEO of Maribank and head of digital banking SEA, shared perspectives on developments in blockchain-based payments. “CBDC (central bank digital currency) is kind of dying and does not have much use cases, but stablecoin seems to be gaining a lot of traction.” “With US push towards legislation on the stablecoin, I see a big opportunity for stablecoin to probably replace SWIFT in one or two decades,” he said. He explained the advantages of low transaction costs and near real-time settlement, and the potential of stablecoins to revolutionise cross-border payments and trade finance. “The blockchain can write all the payment conditions into a smart contract. I do think stablecoin has a big opportunity to revolutionise cross-border payment and entire trade finance industry,” he said. The future with quantum AI In a futuristic session, experts explored quantum AI as both a threat and an opportunity for finance. Quantum computing has the potential to provide massive computing power. This, combined with AI’s ability to enable computers to make decisions, presents significant future potential. The panel deliberated on the applications of quantum AI in finance. Neil Tan, chairman of the AI Association of Hong Kong, observed, “AI needs to be cross-sector. Quantum is emerging. The question is, how do you get the price down and make it more available, and ultimately, who is going to be able to apply this? What this type of technology will bring for us inside financial services is — I would say first defence, then offence. What you need to do is create the defensive moat now and make sure that you're preparing yourself.” He urged thinking about quantum applied for good, citing health and poverty reduction as examples. He opined, “We need to think how do we apply quantum for good. Some sectors such as eliminating diseases, life sciences, other deeper sectors, like managing poverty. Those are the kind of problem sets that I think quantum is here to address.” Monaghan pointed out that quantum provides a time advantage, solving problems faster, even if only by milliseconds. Quantum computing also presents significant challenges to current operating models and financial security. David Gee, seasoned CIO and CISO, warned, “Everything we do in banking relies on encryption technology. There is a lot of investment going into quantum computing. If quantum computing becomes mainstream, if quantum cracks it, the entire system is exposed—and most banks are unprepared.” Maxwell Denega, CEO of Quantum Chain, also called for proactive security. “Quantum computing is a threat to current encryption. It’s not just about power—defences need to be creative.” Governance and scenario planning are critical as banks prepare for these tectonic shifts. The convergence of AI, embedded finance, open banking, cloud computing and quantum AI signals a foundational shift—not merely disruption. These interconnected forces are reshaping the very foundations of the financial industry. Success will depend on how institutions balance innovation with accountability, leverage partnerships with purpose and combine human expertise with technological capabilities. Those able to navigate this complex landscape with agility and clear intent will unlock new avenues for growth, inclusion and resilience in the digital age.
