Fintech Stage of Cambodia Tech Expo 2022

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, 30 November 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Cambodian Association of Finance and Technology (CAFT) in combination with CamTech Powered by Prudential Cambodia, together with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Digital Economy and Business Committee, and the Techo Startup Center helped organize the Fintech stage for Cambodia Tech Expo which was held last 11.–13. November 2022.

Participated by both the public and private sectors, the FinTech stage aims to support and promote the digital economy and FinTech development in Cambodia by mobilizing national and foreign regulators, private enterprises and relevant stakeholders to connect and better understand Fintech trends and innovations, as well as discuss the opportunities and challenges with the aim of strengthening and expanding Cambodia Fintech ecosystem. The FinTech stage also aims to gather more input to prepare a concise and flexible Cambodia Fintech development policy.

The FinTech stage was chaired by HE Vongsey Vissoth, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economy and Finance. He noted that “The remarkable increase in transactions in the banking sector and the growth in the insurance sector clearly show that all financial institutions that are quick to adopt and use Fintech are turning challenges into opportunities. Doing so can strengthen and expand their services to be more skilled and robust to solve these challenges.”

Dr. Sovathana Hor, Assistant Director General of the Insurance Authority i Cambodia said that “prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the insurance regulator has conducted its operation in the traditional way and has yet to focus on any InsurTech development policies. Having experienced the disruption during the pandemic, the IRC saw the need to adopt technology. to maintain the growth of the insurance industry in a sustainable manner. The rapid adoption of digital financial technology by the Cambodian people had paved the way for the simple insurance products and services that are ready to be sold via digital platform. In 2021, with new bancassurance regulation in place, this allows multiple distribution channels for the insurance products to be distributed via banks and MFIs. In this regard, insurance companies can also leverage the existing FinTech capabilities of banks and MFIs as well.”

Mr. Huy Vatharo, Chairman of the Insurance Association of Cambodia said that “technology plays a very important role in the insurance value chain from product development to claims management. The Cambodian Insurance Association believes that there will always be a place for traditional insurance products and services, but we understand the need for our members to especially increase digital channels to public such as Prudential’s Insurance Selling Machines which were recently introduced to the local market. Trust was at the heart of the insurance industry and that technology could also play an important role in ensuring that claims are paid correctly in a fast and efficient manner.”

MR. Sanjay ChakrabartyCEO of Prudential Cambodia, commented that Prudential has been committed to contributing to the growth of digital space in Cambodia through various initiatives, cooperation and support. “This ongoing support demonstrates our vision and belief that combining new technology with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services is essential to ensure the best products and services for our customers and society,” he said.

Our own CAFT Chairman, Mr. Remi Pell graced the FinTech stage and gave the welcome remarks along with Mr. Sok Voeunchairman of the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), Mr. Raymond Sia Say Guanchairman of the Swedish Banking Association i Cambodia (ABC), Mr. Sanjay ChakrabartyCEO of Prudential Cambodia and HE Ou Chandara, Assistant Governor/Secretary General of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). “In terms of our advocacy duties, we aim to continuously increase our role as a conduit between the private sector and public regulators and institutions. The great results we have achieved allowed us to expand our scope and include our members, not only PSIs, but also many commercial banks, microfinance institutions, solution providers, social enterprises, big data, e-commerce, law firms, ICT, and of course startups that make CAFT stronger and more effective connection every day,” said Mr. Pell.

During these 3 days there were 12 presentations on crucial topics such as FinTech Development i Cambodia and ASEAN, Draft Cambodia FinTech Development Policy, Digitizing the Banking Sector, KHQR and Bakong, Open Banking, Insurtech, Cybersecurity in Developing Economy, Launch of Cambodia Distributed Ledger (CamDL) and Demystifying Web 3.0. In addition, there were 5 panel discussions on topics such as One Fintech ASEAN Movement, Banking and Digitalization, Potential of Insurtech, Cyber ​​threats in the financial markets and Building New Financial Services with Web3.0.

Some of our partners were among the speakers for the FinTech Stage, namely Mr. Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS); MR. Michael Natusch, Chief Science Officer, Prudential Corporation Asia; MR. Andrew Wong, Chief Health Officer, Prudential Plc.; Mr. Akhshy Thiagarajan, Chief Innovation Officer, Prudential Singapore; and Mr. Andy ChunRegional Director, Technology Innovation, Prudential Corporation Asia.

Characterized by lively discussions, shared concepts and deeply insightful information, the event was truly a success.