As the search for efficiency intensifies amid a slowdown in economic growth, banks continue to leverage technology to relieve cost pressures and provide increasingly complex working capital solutions that their clients demand.

The advent of new technologies is driving rapid upgrading of national payment systems around the world that are enabled with rich data and real-time capabilities.

Shinhan Bank has launched Korea’s first full service biometric-enabled and unmanned smart digital kiosks that allow customers to do financial transactions through real-time video interaction without the need to visit a physical branch.

HSBC will continue reshaping its business and conduct cost-saving strategies amidst a weak performance in its European, Latin American, and North American businesses.

China Merchants Bank and China CITIC Bank are developing their credit card businesses to stimulate retail income.

The development of digital platforms that enable direct global money transfer is a nascent but fast growing business model from the remittance industry. The model does not envisage traditional banks as part of the long term plans, and competes with the largest global money operators head on.

Despite current economic challenges, Vietnam’s banking sector has promising longer term potential due to its relatively young and increasingly affluent population.

The contribution of consumer finance to the overall retail loans in Asia Pacific in 2015 ranged from 2% to 56%. Its share to retail loans has increased in markets like Indonesia but has declined in Hong Kong and Thailand. The growth of consumer finance per country also varied, slowing down in Taiwan and growing faster in the Philippines.

While crowdlending in Asia Pacific shows early promise, its fate will be dictated by how regulators and banks respond to the challenges they pose.

Innovations emerging from East and West African banking hubs are enabling the sector to take a lead in reaching Africa’s unbanked population but much remains to be done.

New payment options in the market are creating new opportunities, making competition fiercer, and reducing the use of cash and cheques.

State enterprises form one of the largest customer segments of Krung Thai Bank. But this does not confine the bank, as it enters the nongovernment retail deposit market driven by a mix of competitive pricing and products, process innovation, and a strong branch network.