However, here we are in October 2003 and the paper check is still very much in use, the smart card has not succeeded as predicted, and the number of brick-and-mortar bank offices is still increasing. Clearly, there is much that we do not understand.
While many jurisdictions in ASEAN – and Asia for that matter – remain bank-centric, the pressure on the banking books needs to be mitigated when 15, 20 and 25 year loans are generated from a funding base largely made up of savings deposits. The gapping risk is significant and the global focus on liquidity risk makes this issue even more stark.