MyInfo is a government digital service that enables Singapore residents to authorise thirdparties to access their personal data residing across different government agencies through APIs. This means that, with the consent of the customer, banks can use the MyInfo service for more efficient KYC using government-verified personal data. I can now open a bank account or obtain a credit card – online and instantly – when I give consent to my bank to access my data through MyInfo. 4 / 10  BIS central bankers' speeches  Customers do not need to go through the tedious process of filling up forms and providing hardcopy documents to banks for verification. And they certainly don’t need to go to the bank branch. Banks benefit from higher productivity and better risk management. Second, secure and seamless payments through PayNow. PayNow was jointly developed by MAS and the banking industry. It enables individuals and businesses to transfer funds using just the personal ID number or mobile phone number or unique entity number of their recipients. It operates 24-by-7 and funds can be transferred directly from one bank account to another in real-time. I can now send money to my friend in just three clicks on my smart phone – all I need to know is his mobile number. Business users of PayNow can generate a QR code containing their unique entity number.
But the second and potentially more powerful way in which technology is helping to drive down the cost of financial intermediation is through partnerships between financial institutions and FinTech firms. Soc-Gén is working with TagPay to provide mobile banking in Africa through a cloud-based platform that is compatible with any mobile phone. AXA is working with MicroEnsure to offer simple and affordable insurance products to customers across Asia and Africa. By helping to reduce customer acquisition costs, these collaborations have helped to serve a larger social purpose – enhancing financial inclusion and expanding opportunity. But there is a lot more we need to do. There are about 1.7 billion adults globally who are unbanked. In the ten ASEAN countries of Southeast Asia, half the adult population is unbanked. This is a shame. The ASEAN countries have a burgeoning middle class and increasingly modern infrastructure, yet so many do not have access to a bank account, secure and affordable payments, or insurance protection. Banks and insurers face high costs in reaching out to customers in remote areas. We need to take collaboration between financial institutions and FinTech firms to a much broader level – through platforms for innovation and inclusion. This is why the MAS, the ASEAN Bankers Association, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation have teamed up to establish the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network, or AFIN in short. AFIN aims to bring banks and FinTech firms from across the world to develop innovative solutions to penetrate hard-to-reach markets in a cost efficient way.