According to Statista, revenue in the eCommerce market in Asia is projected to reach USD 1.97 trillion in 2024 and is expected to achieve an annual growth rate of 9.8%, resulting in a projected market volume of USD 3.15 trillion by 2029. Building for this momentum and ready to capitalise on it is Deutsche Bank’s Merchant Solutions, an in-house managed payment acceptance tool developed in partnership with a PayTech company that enables global electronic payment processing in a cost-efficient, reliable, and secure manner. We spoke with Rachel Whelan, Head of Corporate Cash Management for Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa and Global Head of Payments and Transactional FX Product Management, Deutsche Bank, to learn more about trends in the region and how the bank is set to capitalise on them.
Prachi Rajgarhia: With the launch of Merchant Solutions in key Asian markets, what are some of the key trends that Deutsche Bank aims to leverage on?
Rachel Whelan: With the launch of Merchant Solutions in Asia Pacific we took a step further in integrating ourselves in the day-to-day working of our clients, bolstering their cash management capabilities while continuously innovating in the global payment acceptance landscape. The launch of Merchant Solutions in the region will allow us to leverage on some the fast-growing e-commerce markets depicting key trends such as:
- Real-time Payments: The rollout of instant payment offerings in each country and initiatives such as Nexus which is focused on enabling cross border instant connectivity.
- Embedded payments and Omni Channel Solutions: Connecting corporates directly to their end consumer experience, allowing them to differentiate their offerings
- Cloud enabled, 24*7 digitised payments: Uptime requirements in terms of payments and liquidity to support corporates’ global cash flow needs
- Mobile Payments & Wallets: Expected to continue to grow, linked to usage and adoption of smartphones to support all consumers including the unbanked population
- ISO20022 Message Standards: Offers richer data content to support secure and efficient payment flows and understand consumer behaviour and preference insights better.
Prachi Rajgarhia: In a highly competitive landscape, especially Asia, how is Merchant Solution differentiating itself from its competitors?
Rachel Whelan: We continuously drive digitization together with our clients to strengthen real-time processes, automation and a unified infrastructure. Our Merchant Solutions offer payment acceptance including PSP and other capabilities including collection and robust reconciliation. In combination with our bank’s wider product suite, we offer our clients a holistic payment (processing, clearing and collection) and banking solution that leads to cost savings, liquidity advantages and planning and forecasting advantages. Offering a ‘one-stop-shop’ is our key differentiator in the market.
Prachi Rajgarhia: Talk to us about the importance of collaborations/strategic partnerships with global and regional players? How can these potential collaborations transform the industry at large?
Rachel Whelan: We see our role not only as bankers but also as partners, serving our clients with solutions that cover all aspects of payment and banking. We fully onboard selected PSP partners on our platform to combine payment acceptance with cash management and banking, with minimum integration effort for clients. Our PSP partners are continuously evaluated based on their financial strength, technology solutions, core markets and risk management practices. By partnering with PayTech and FinTech companies, we can operate in symbiotic relationships, thus allowing each party to focus on what they excel at, which enables us to offer more holistic and scalable solutions to our clients.
Prachi Rajgarhia: In the coming years, how is Deutsche Bank set to transform key areas in the payments landscape?
Rachel Whelan: Deutsche Bank’s strategy to support our clients wherever their business takes them, is underpinned by the development of our state-of-the-art cloud-enabled infrastructure payment infrastructure. It runs 24*7 and can provide safety, consistency, transparency and scale for our clients as they evolve and recalibrate their business models. This is one of the key areas of investment for the bank now and in the coming years, preparing us to support the transition to full digitisation and meet the real-time expectations around how businesses will operate in the future.
