Harrison White
One of Cambodia’s most well-known brands Wing has completed the transformation into a fully-fledged commercial bank this year launching two flagship branches and appearing ready to shake up the highly competitive banking sector.
Speaking to Cambodia Investment Review Wing Bank Chief Executive Office Mr. Han Peng Kwang highlighted the ‘phygital banks’ new services and products as well as its long term vision for the Wing ecosystem in a market many consider is ready for change.
“A bank for every Cambodian has always been the dream Neak Oknha Kith Meng, the Chairman of Wing Bank. 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 in operations, Wing has become one of the most trusted and used brands in the Financial Services industry in Cambodia,” he added.
Wing Money Transfers has dominated the market across the Kingdom becoming a vital financial service for the under-banked communities as well as bridging the city to province money transfer divide.
To read more about how financial intuitions remain significant source of capital for improving people’s livelihoods in Cambodia click here.
Han says it is this unmatched reach, trust, and cost-efficient ways of serving a customer that Bank will aim to leverage and drive complete financial inclusion of Cambodia.
“Most often cost of operations of a traditional banking network prevents it from serving customers in every part of the country. However with our vast digital ecosystem, partners and use-cases can help anyone in Cambodia to live a 100% digital life effortlessly and securely,” Han said.
“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,” he added.
Standing out in a crowded market
Cambodia currently has over 50 commercial banks with many saying the sector is oversaturated and ready for a shakeup especially if the regulator increases minimum capital requirements from the current $75 million to $150 million.
In response, Han believes that the unique products, services offered at market-leading rates will position the Bank to be a market leader in addition to utilizing the brand’s ultra-strong awareness to attract customers.
“We have always led the market segments we operated in through the introduction of innovative products and services that always catered to the needs of our customers. Wing Bank will continue that tradition in introducing innovative products in the market that are relevant to and for the improvement of every Cambodian’s daily life, Han said.
Some of the latest innovative products will first-ever numberless bank card in the country that is 100% theft-proof as well as Quick Loans and Quick Cash Advance.
“Customers can go to their Wing Bank App and select Loans from under the marketplace. The fastest loan decisioning for Wing Bank takes place in less than 5 minutes. We use advanced decisioning engines and processes at the back end to speed up the loan decision process. Gone are the days when a customer had to wait for days or weeks for loan decisioning and processing,” Han said.
To read more about how Wing and Credit Bureau of Cambodia have joined to increase credit access click here.
The Bank is also looking to increase financial inclusion for Cambodians who may not have a traditional credit score using transaction history to create a credit profile for each customer in their ecosystem.
“Wing Bank makes use of every transaction the customer makes to build their credit history so that with every transaction, they come closer to becoming eligible for a collateral-free and instant loan in the future. So, anyone who opens a Wing Bank account and uses it for payments or e-commerce would be building up their credit profile over time that might help them to have access to finance in future when they really need it,” Han said.
‘Phygital banking’
While the recent launch of the Banks two flagship branches in central Phnom Penh and the rapidly developing Sen Sok district was a notable achievement of growth many in the sector have been moving away from bricks and mortar and turning to digital-first.
Han explains that Wing will be leveraging on its current user-friendly Wing Bank app and at the same time, opening more physical branches to cater to all our customers.
“For young generation customers who prefer a digital life, Wing Bank offers an opportunity to live a 100% digital life with over 80 customer journeys inside the Wing Bank App,” he said.
“For those who prefer to do banking across the counter with a friendly teller, we will have enough number of Wing Bank branches throughout the country that will be making use of state-of-the-art facilities and features to introduce them to the global standards in banking,” he added.
He added in short Wing will function as a Phygital Bank – customers can choose their preferred mode of interaction with us, digitally using their mobile phone or physically visiting our branches.
Growing the Wing ecosystem
By far, what Wing Bank has over its competition is the near 100% brand awareness that traditional marketing teams would need to spend many years and dollars to achieve. In addition, the Bank has several other lines of business to utilize.
Wing’s stated aim is to create an ecosystem that connects customers to various retailers, wholesalers, remittance companies, Government Ministries, utility companies, insurance companies and many more entities to offer both financial and non-financial services to our customers, to make their lives more convenient and hassle-free.
To read more about the growing digital ecosystems in Cambodia click here.
“Wing started as a FinTech company in 2008 and we were the pioneer in Cambodia during that time when it comes to domestic remittance business and has won numerous Fintech awards over the years. We now have one of the largest ecosystems for digital payments in Cambodia using the latest technologies,” Han said.
“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,” he added.
