How Baiduri Bank supports Brunei’s MSMEs: From tech training to matchmaking

Transcript

Along with its fresh rebrand and new environmentally sustainable headquarters, Baiduri Bank has released a new brand promise: ‘Co-creating your future.’ And that doesn’t just mean for its retail customers, where Baiduri is innovating through its branch network and mobile devices; or for its business clients, where the bank is collaborating with government to help MSMEs embrace technology. It also means for the community, where Baiduri is giving back through a number of impactful CSR initiatives. Baiduri Bank CEO Ti Eng Hui discusses all of these in this video; while in the first half of this interview he talks about the commitment to sustainable banking and long-term customer care that ‘co-creating your future’ represents.

World Finance: I’m back with Ti Eng Hui, CEO of Baiduri Bank; you’ve launched a number of important CSR programmes in the last few years, talk me through some of the most impactful schemes.

Ti Eng Hui: So, one of them that we have launched recently is, together with an NGO, we’ve worked with the Ministry of Education to help students to learn Low Impact Living. So we thought that’s something that is very important to have that developed at a young age. So when the children go back home they will tell their parents. And we thought that is one way we can help, in terms of supporting the community.

We have also launched, just before the second wave of COVID last year, a national platform for volunteerism, to allow volunteers to come forward and help those patients in need, those nurses in need, those medical staff in need. And the impact has been tremendous. So we are really grateful for the opportunity. And it’s really something that we’re very proud of.

World Finance: And how is Baiduri supporting Brunei’s micro, small, and medium enterprises – especially as customers increasingly adopt a digital-first mentality?

Ti Eng Hui: So we work with a government statutory department called Darussalam Enterprise to run workshops covering marketing, accounting, and technology, to make sure that the MSMEs can embrace technology.

We also run business matching forums so that MSMEs can become suppliers to this bigger group of companies.

So we thought that would, you know: put it together, help each other. In terms of supporting the local businesses, the smaller businesses. And allowing the bigger businesses to do their part in helping the smaller guys.

World Finance: Baiduri Bank has committed to an omnichannel approach to customer service; how are you innovating in both the digital space and your physical branches?

Ti Eng Hui: So what we have done with the branch footprint is that we have increased the ATM space and reduced the counter services. At the same time we throw in digital services, where of course customers can come in; if they’ve a problem using their mobile phone or internet banking, they can get support from there.

But what is important is that on the technology front we have adapted the latest technology and optimised into the banking for mobile phone usage. Customers can sign on using biometrics, so that provides a new level of convenience.

Customers love the experience so far, we’ve got very good sign-ups and we’re hearing fantastic stories.

We also have rolled out the AI chatbot called Emmi, which allows customers to send in messages, and they get the response immediately for any enquiries that they have.

So these are the current technologies that we have deployed, and I think customers have responded very well so far.

World Finance: Ti Eng Hui, thank you very much.

Ti Eng Hui: You’re most welcome.