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BIZ GUEST

CELEBR ATING 120 YEARS IN VIETNAM

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

SHAPING CASH MANAGEMENT

IN VIETNAM & ASEAN

The rapid digital transformation taking place across many industries is disrupting
treasury management practices while creating opportunities for treasurers to
better manage their cash flow and accelerate business growth.

By MR. SYLVESTER KINUTHIA

ash management entails more than an expectation of a similar experience
simply making and receiving pay- when dealing with corporates. This means
C ments. It is about an organization that corporates must embed new payment
unlocking the potential to achieve more technologies into their cash management
with their cash as they Collect, Hold, and operations to meet the growing customer
Pay. The evolving needs of customers, the needs and expectations. We are seeing
increasingly competitive business environ- more and more corporates increasingly
ment, and the advent of new technologies adopt the use of instant payments and
is transforming cash management offerings other digital payments when dealing with
and capabilities, from commoditized prod- their counterparties, i.e., buyers, employees,
ucts to value-added solutions. At Standard etc., to remain relevant in a rapidly-changing
Chartered, we put our clients and their environment and to better manage their
businesses at the center when designing cash flows. While instant payments allow
holistic solutions that will allow them to corporates to send and receive payments
Collect, Hold, and Pay in a more efficient, instantly within Vietnam, combining this
faster, and secure manner. with API Banking - real-time connectivity
The rapid digital transformation taking between the corporate and the bank to
place across many industries is disrupting exchange financial transactions / messages
treasury management practices while cre- - helps amplify the benefits by enabling
ating opportunities for treasurers to better corporates to achieve better liquidity with
manage their cash flow and accelerate busi- experience that is tailored to their individual accelerated collections of their receivables
ness growth. The rise of digital payments, needs and preferences, in one unified plat- and just-in-time payments.
the growth in B2B e-commerce, and the form. Ultimately, consumers want the With the growth of alternative payment
adoption of APIs (Application Programming ability to shop and pay anytime, anywhere. methods and as organizations take their
Interfaces) are key drivers behind the latest This shift in the retail space also calls for businesses online and expand into new
cash management trends we have been wit- retailers to leverage new technologies, such markets, they are confronted with an ever-
nessing in Vietnam and across ASEAN. as omni-channel, for their e-commerce growing list of payment options and pay-
The adoption of digital payments was accel- offerings, to enhance their digitalization, ment service providers (PSPs). Standard
erated by Covid-19 and has continued in operational efficiency, inventory turnover, Chartered makes it easy for businesses to
recent years mainly due to changing con- and customer experience. With the shift discover and accept popular payment meth-
sumer behavior. While we have transited to e-commerce, the way that consumers ods with a single integration and a single
into a post-pandemic world, many businesses want to pay has also evolved drastically, contract through Straight2Bank Pay, our
have continued their e-commerce operations moving away from conventional payment omni-channel digital collections gateway.
to reap its operational benefits as well as to methods like cards and cash to alternative Straight2Bank Pay enables organizations
accommodate changes in consumer behavior. payment methods like e-wallets, instant to present multiple payment options (such
As a result, there has been a record rise in payments, and QR codes, etc., which speaks as e-wallets, cards, bank transfers, instant
e-commerce competition, fueled by many to the exponential growth in volume and payments, and QR code payments) to their
retailers shifting their business models to value. As these alternative payment methods consumers. The gateway can facilitate
online and direct-to-consumer. continue to grow in popularity, more options digital collections across sales channels,
The convenience of e-commerce has are emerging in Vietnam and across Stan- all through a single technical connection
driven consumer demand for omni-channel dard Chartered’s footprint. and a single contract with Standard Char-
retail experiences that are not bound within As consumers are already used to the tered, and enable operational efficiency
a physical shop. Consumers now expect convenience of these alternative payment for reconciliation with real-time payment
retailers to provide them with a seamless methods (i.e., person-to-person), there is confirmation from Standard Chartered.

44 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | MARCH 2024 en.vneconomy.vn