Neak Okhna Kith Meng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Group of Companies, an extraordinary investor, astute businessman and owner of one of the most successful cash transfer business in the country, offer an exclusive interview in conjunction with the Official Launch of his latest project, Wing Bank.
Upgrading Wing Specialized Bank into a full fledge Commercial Bank
A bank for every Cambodian has always been my dream. The barriers to the total financial inclusion of our country had to be addressed in stages. The Mobile Network Operators like Cellcard have done a great job under the guidance of MPTC to ensure that almost every Cambodian gained access to a mobile phone, in a very quick timeframe.
When we started Wing 13 years ago, it was with the vision to provide every Cambodian with convenient access to mobile financial services relevant to, and for the improvement of their daily life. Today, after 13 years of operating, Wing has become one of the most trusted and used brands in the Financial Services industry in Cambodia.
To me, that unmatched reach, trust and cost-efficient way of serving a customer had to be leveraged to drive complete financial inclusion in Cambodia. Most often the cost of operations of a traditional banking network prevents it from serving customers in every part of the country. Wing, with its vast digital ecosystem, partners and use-cases can help anyone in Cambodia to live a 100% digital life effortlessly and securely. Adding products and services that only a Commercial Bank could offer to that vast Digital Ecosystem of use-cases helps to provide every Cambodian with easy access to Savings and Lending products along with the now-famous money transfer and payment solutions of Wing.
Wing is rightly positioned as the Bank for Every Cambodian. Only a big financial services institution with the kind of scale and reach of Wing could say that. And that’s exactly the unique differentiation for Wing Bank.
Enhancing the creditworthiness of Wing Bank
The money transfer and payments business of Wing over the years has helped millions of Cambodians reduce the friction in transferring money. The 10,000+ Wing Agents across Cambodia have ensured easy accessibility to financial services.
My vision for Wing Bank is to eliminate the friction that exists in providing easy access to financial services for the deserving Cambodians and in the process, bring every Cambodian into the formal financial sector and provide them with solutions that are easily accessible, highly aspirational, and extremely affordable.
Wing Bank will be using cutting edge technologies provided by world class partners to drive down the cost of banking operations and to reduce lead times for loan processing. Wing Bank will have innovative and attractive Savings products that will not only provide every Cambodian with the ability to plan for their financial needs, but also will help them build their credit worthiness through every transaction that they do using the Wing Bank ecosystem. The more they use Wing Bank Services, the more they get closer to building up their credit scores to be eligible for Quick Loans from Wing Bank.
Wing Bank makes use of modern AI and ML technologies for efficient and effective loan decisioning. The fastest loan decisioning on the Wing Bank App will take place in less than 5 mins.
We are also introducing products that use technology to remove certain problems bank users have always faced. The numberless Mastercard is one such example. It is the first theft proof and 100% digitally secured bank card that is available in the country today. Customers don’t need to worry about the safety of their money in their Wing Bank accounts while using their Wing Bank Numberless card because the card carries no information that can be stolen. Even in the case of theft or loss of the card, the money in their accounts will be 100% safe and they can also deactivate the card with a click of a button on their Wing Bank App.
That’s the technology in play for peace of mind.
Wing Bank has always been a big proponent of Green Banking. So, the numberless cards will be available as Metal-Inlay as well as bio-degradable versions. We also have an anti-bacterial Mastercard for our customers for their safety considering the times in which we are living.
Becoming a great commercial banker in addition to becoming a highly successful diversified business magnate
I recently mentioned on my Social Media page that one should never get into a permanent comfort zone in life. One should always strive harder than they have done in the past. There is always room for one to better themselves in their own respective fields. I have always tried to contribute more and more to my country through the Royal Group. Every day we hustle to better ourselves and try to bring out more innovative products, services and solutions to improve the lives of every Cambodian.
Keeping the customer at the center of everything we do is what has given Wing Bank the success and trust it enjoys today. When you are in the business of serving people in the financial industry, you have to constantly be working hard to find newer and better ways to improve their daily lives. The banking industry is changing the way it is functioning across the world. It is breaking the barriers of time, distance, and societal bias. Technology has made it possible to drive down the cost of serving customers even in the remotest of places digitally and with efficiency. Wing Bank will be bringing cutting edge technologies in the banking industry to Cambodia to serve our customers and help drive financial, gender and digital inclusion.
Value, Mission and Vision of Wing Bank
The vision of Wing Bank is to provide every Cambodian with convenient access to relevant digital solutions for the improvement of their daily lives.
We believe in providing choices and solutions that are convenient, relevant and are with an intention to make the lives of Cambodians better. Be it in financial services, money transfer or day-to-day lifestyle needs that they have. Wing Bank with its vast digital ecosystem will be providing every Cambodian with technologically advanced products and services that will help them live a 100% digital life, conveniently and securely. And for those customers who prefer to visit a Wing Bank branch, we will have many of them across the country where they could get the unmatched customer care and service of the Wing Bank personnel.
Major role and contribution of Wing Bank for individuals and for the country’s banking sector and economy
Digitalization is transforming the Banking Sector in developing countries and is removing the many hurdles that traditionally came in the way of driving financial inclusion in such countries. Wing is a pioneer and one of the most awarded Fintech companies in the world. We expect Wing Bank to be no different.
Wing Bank has one of the largest ecosystems for digital payments. You can pay utility bills, make payments, transfer money for free, send money abroad at the lowest rates, top up your phone, pay back your loans, pay your insurance premiums, travel on city buses, pay tuk-tuk rides, book and pay for taxis, buses and ferries, make online payments, create and use Mastercard and Visa accounts on the Wing Bank App and make payments across the world, and pay digitally at domestic and international merchants, donate to charity, paying for e-commerce and social commerce and much more. Wing Bank has created over 80 customer journeys inside the Wing Bank App to help enable transactions digitally for all segments of people in Cambodia in any currency.
Today a Wing Bank Account holder can live a 100% digital life without having to use physical cash with the help of these use-cases, partnerships and large ecosystems for digital transactions Wing Bank has created. We expect Wing Bank to drive financial, gender and digital inclusion in Cambodia in the days to come.
Venturing into Wing Bank
Wing was established in 2008, as a money transfer business under third party processor license and had upgraded to be a specialized bank in 2014, and ultimately was granted a commercial bank license in late 2020, under the watchful eyes of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). Since then, Wing has revolutionized the way Cambodians access financial services by introducing instant, secure, and convenient mobile financial services. Wing’s popularity with rural and urban Cambodians alike and the underbanked has allowed the firm to solidify its position as a market leader.
Wing Bank has been at the forefront of driving financial, gender and digital inclusion in Cambodia through the continuous introduction of innovative products and solutions that were aimed at improving the lives of people. Over 80 percent of Wing’s agents, 1 out of every 3rd employee of Wing and over 50 percent of customers are women, making Wing a shining example of gender inclusion in the region. Wing has also been helping drive up the usage of the Khmer Riel in the economy with its in-built currency converter that helps customers make transactions in a currency of their choice. Our continued focus in providing user-friendly and digital options to use Khmer Riel paid generous dividends with the total value of Riel transactions on Wing network crossing the 50% mark in 2021!
We believe the time has come to make use of the superior technologically and vast ecosystem that Wing has built over these years to provide easy and frictionless access to finance to deserving Cambodians. Just like how Wing revolutionized the way payments and transfers were done, we expect Wing Bank to use the new commercial banking license to provide custom-built financial solutions for all segments of the Cambodian economy from the banked to the unbanked, MSMEs to Corporations and from the young to the old, while staying focused on our vision to improve the lives of every Cambodian.
Possibility of branching out into investment and or private banking
Since the vision of Wing Bank is to be the Bank for every Cambodian, I will always be open to explore new ways and solutions to serve our bank customers. Therefore, if our customers have a need for investment and private banking, I will definitely look into it.
25 Storey Wing Bank Headquarters
Wing Bank Headquarter i.e. The Wing Tower which is located on the intersection of Preah Monivong Blvd and Kampuchea Krom Blvd will be a 25 storey tower and is expected to be ready in 2023. It will have state-of-the-art facilities and will house the Wing Bank and Royal Group teams.
Khmer Daily
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