Enter , a game changer for the midmarket banking industry. Let’s dive into how this solution can help banks aiming to skyrocket their growth and redefine the future of banking.聽

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Tailored for the Midmarket

麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud can address the unique challenges and aspirations of midmarket banks. With a laser focus on pre-built functionality and best practices, the solution is designed to fit seamlessly into the specific requirements of midsized financial institutions, helping to ensure a match that caters to their distinct operational demands and strategic visions. 

Unleashing the Power of Simplicity

In the complex maze of banking operations, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud offers a user-friendly interface and streamlined processes that can simplify complex banking tasks, helping midmarket players to navigate with ease and efficiency. It’s about fostering a culture of simplicity that can amplify productivity and enhance the overall banking experience. 

Scalability Redefined

For midmarket banks aiming to scale their operations and expand their market presence, 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud can serve as the ultimate growth catalyst. With its robust scalability features, the solution can empower banks to seamlessly adapt to evolving market dynamics, embrace new opportunities, and catapult their business to new heights without the fear of outgrowing their technological backbone. 

Customer-Centric Innovation

In an era where the customer experience reigns supreme, 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud helps place the customer at the heart of every banking endeavor. From personalized banking services to real-time insights that can drive meaningful engagements, the solution can enable midmarket banks to create unforgettable customer journeys that can foster long-term relationships and trust, helping to set them apart in a competitive landscape. 

Security Fortified

In the age of digital threats and cyber vulnerabilities, the security of financial data is non-negotiable. 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud comes fortified with robust security features that can safeguard sensitive information, helping ensure data integrity and compliance with regulatory standards. It’s like having an impenetrable fortress protecting the valuable assets and trust of both the bank and its customers. 

Embracing Future-Ready Technology

麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud is not just about meeting the current industry standards; it’s about setting the stage for future innovation and technological advancements. With a forward-thinking approach and integration of cutting-edge technologies like generative artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, the solution can empower midmarket banks to stay ahead of the curve and help pave the way for a future-ready banking landscape. 

In conclusion, 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud stands out as a quintessential choice for the midmarket banking industry, offering a blend of customization, simplicity, scalability, customer-centric innovation, robust security, and future-ready technology. By embracing the power of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, midmarket banks can embark on a transformative journey that can propel their growth, amplify their customer relationships, and set them on a trajectory of unprecedented success in the dynamic world of modern banking. 

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Falk Rieker is global head of IBU Banking at 麻豆原创.

The HR team at gladly accepted that challenge and raised it, aiming not only to alleviate commuting-associated stress but also to streamline HR processes while incentivizing sustainable transportation alternatives. 

Overhauling Employee Transportation Benefits

With offices in major cities across Belgium and over a thousand employees grappling with a daily commute, Degroof Petercam realized that the bank鈥檚 employee transportation benefits needed a significant overhaul. Employees had to choose one mobility plan from limited options and commit to it for four years. The application process was also cumbersome, miring employees and HR staff in time-consuming, manual tasks.

Degroof Petercam needed an intuitive, flexible application to maximize employee benefits and meet their commuting preferences while encouraging sustainable commuting and minimizing administrative headaches. The bank reached out to Flexso, whose deep HR business expertise and extensive experience with 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (麻豆原创 BTP) made it the perfect partner.

Guy Spitaels, head of HR Service Center, Payroll & Systems, explained: 鈥淲e started from a blank page, so it was really important to have a sounding board, and Flexso challenged us in each phase of the project鈥hey really played a critical role.鈥� As for the development process, Bert Van Bree, solution architect at Flexso Digital, said, 鈥淚 think our approach can be summarized as start with design thinking and then scale with architecture thinking鈥� while remembering that 鈥渢he application must really empower the employee.鈥�

Meeting the Personal Needs of Employees While Helping the Planet

Flexso鈥檚 human-centric approach, combined with the power of 麻豆原创 BTP, resulted in a new mobility app perfectly tailored for the employees and the business. The user-friendly app gives employees the flexibility to spend their yearly commuting budget on an array of options 鈥� public transportation, leasing a traditional or electric bike, leasing a gas-powered, hybrid, or electric car, or any combination of the above.

For example, an employee might choose to drive on days when they are dropping a child off at school or heading straight to the gym after work and then take public transportation at other times. The app allows users to simulate infinite combinations of different transportation scenarios to create their ideal commute. Degroof Petercam employees value 鈥渢he transparency and the flexibility of our tool,鈥� Kira Zouboff, HR business analyst, said, and the simulations allow them to 鈥減lay in the tool. They discover all of its features while they are making their own choices, meeting their personal needs.鈥�

To reduce the bank鈥檚 overall carbon footprint, the new app awards employees a 鈥済reen bonus鈥� when they choose more sustainable options, a benefit that has increased Degroof Petercam employees鈥� sustainable commutes by 50%. 鈥淲e can incentivize the reduction of our carbon footprint while offering a very flexible solution, and the fact that the tool is consolidating all of the data helps us report on long-term sustainability solutions in line with all of the initiatives that are led by our group sustainability manager,鈥� Zouboff explained.

Efficiency Improvements for HR

As for the HR team, the new mobility app automatically assigns each employee鈥檚 transportation budget and provides a real-time view of employee choices and requests through the user-friendly administrative platform. After the app’s rollout, Degroof Petercam saw a 75% improvement in efficiency around the administration of mobility benefits.

The mobility app is also a powerful recruitment tool for like-minded top talent. 鈥淚 think our large and flexible mobility offer is absolutely an asset in the war for talent,鈥� Spitaels said.

The Full Episode

The guests from Degroof Petercam 鈥� , , and 鈥� joined , to discuss the origins and implementation of the app:

• : Spitaels, Zouboff, and Van Bree shared insights behind Degroof Petercam鈥檚 inspiring move to offer sustainable transportation alternatives as a benefit to its employees in an easy-to-use mobility app.

• : Spitaels, Zouboff, and Van Bree continued the conversation and dug deeper into how real-time integrations with mobility providers and an intuitive app interface came together to help employees better understand the impact of their transportation choices.

Empowering Employees by Focusing on Their Well-Being

A recent Harvard Business Review article argues that a daily commute is an important ritual that can increase employee well-being and job satisfaction. At Degroof Petercam, current and future employees are empowered to create a daily routine that works for them 鈥� walking, biking, driving, public transporting, or carpooling to a perfect day.

Interested in more stories that feature companies innovating for people, productivity, and the planet? Check out:

• : As one of Europe鈥檚 leading frozen food brands, FRoSTA is committed to sustainability and environmental protection. The company aims to be a digital champion in the frozen food sector by 2025. Ultimately, FRoSTA鈥檚 employees will help bring about this change, reduce the company鈥檚 environmental impact, and drive its success.
• : In 2022, Cepsa presented its new strategic plan for 2030, 鈥淧ositive Motion,鈥� which projects the company鈥檚 ambition to be a leader in sustainable mobility, biofuels, and green hydrogen in Spain and Portugal and become a benchmark in the energy transition. Cepsa places customers at the heart of its business and will work with them to help them advance their decarbonization goals.

For the full episode and the on-demand Better Together: Customer Conversations series, visit .

Timo Elliott is vice president and global innovation advocate at 麻豆原创.

is a leading international bank headquartered in London with a presence in 59 markets. With over 83,000 employees and almost 14,000 external workers, implementing a strategy was crucial for the bank to remain competitive and compliant. Guided by a workplace culture that champions innovation, technology, and sustainability, Standard Chartered supports customers from around the world to open opportunities in new markets and to live up to its brand promise to be here for good.

鈥淔or us, it鈥檚 really important to have that total workforce management view, where we鈥檙e starting to think about workforce planning and skills planning as the future of work,鈥� said Melinda McKinley, global head, HR Strategy and Digital Transformation, Standard Chartered. McKinley key insights from Standard Chartered鈥檚 HR transformation at 麻豆原创 Sapphire Orlando.

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Due to changing regulations, the banking sector has faced an increasing demand for workers with specialized skill sets to meet IT and cybersecurity requirements. This has led many finance organizations like Standard Chartered to tap into the external workforce. Today, Standard Chartered鈥檚 external workers are integral to how the organization operates. But initially, it lacked the technology and insights to effectively manage them.

The bank had an over 20-year-old HR system that made it increasingly difficult to innovate and respond quickly to changing business and regulatory requirements, according to Steve Leighton, head of HR Digital Enablement, Standard Chartered and a member of the team undertaking the HR transformation journey since it began in 2017. 鈥淲e wanted to replace that legacy system, transform, simplify, implement a global process, and really make an improvement in the experience.鈥�

One strategic requirement stood out as key to the success of the HR transformation: 鈥淗ow do we join together our permanent employees and our contingent workers to get a total view of the workforce across the organization?鈥� said Leighton, who presented the project results at 麻豆原创 Sapphire Orlando. 鈥淭his is a building block in our long-term ambition of being able to perform our strategic workforce planning.鈥�

HR Transformation Wins 麻豆原创 Innovation Award

Standard Chartered adopted a total workforce management strategy by integrating with solutions in the cloud to help deliver a truly holistic capability across its permanent and contingent workforce. 鈥淭hat kind of integration 鈥� [麻豆原创 SuccessFactors and 麻豆原创 Fieldglass] together 鈥� was key for this particular transformation,鈥� Leighton said.

With the implementation of position management, a foundational capability in 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors Employee Central that helps organizations create and manage job positions to maintain a desired org structure, the organization achieved a breakthrough in its HR transformation journey as the result of its clear strategic vision.

鈥淥ne of the key things that set us on a path for a future-ready workforce was really embracing the foundational architecture that position management brings,鈥� McKinley said. 鈥淭hat meant immediately we had a visualization of our total workforce 鈥� our contingent and our employee base. It is leading to much stronger data-driven hiring decisions.鈥�

Standard Chartered remediated 75 interfaces to third-party systems, including outsourced payroll solutions, and migrated 3.5 million data records from its legacy platform. It overhauled processes to achieve an 87% reduction of HR reports. With improved visibility of the entire workforce, where legally permissible, it can now capture richer data for diversity and inclusion metrics to further enable its inclusive culture.

A clear focus on employee experience has significantly contributed to the transformation鈥檚 ongoing success. Applying a 鈥渄eep鈥� experience approach, the team evaluated each phase and decision in the project for its potential impact on employee experience. Approximately 200 colleagues participated in user acceptance testing, providing valuable feedback through surveys and interviews. Collecting insights post-deployment also enabled the team to continuously innovate and improve the experience. Among the resulting innovations is a new employee portal with a modernized interface that integrates adoption nudges and chatbots to support colleagues during the hiring process.

鈥淧osition management was a key tenet of being able to facilitate this single workforce capability,鈥� said Leighton, who shared learnings from the project, including the effort required for change management to educate and prepare stakeholders and the diligent approach to the data integration. He noted that this effort paid off by 鈥渃learly culminating in that success.鈥�

Standard Chartered recently for its success in delivering on total workforce management with a focus on experience.

Strategic Vision for Future-Ready Workforce

鈥淲ith 麻豆原创, we now have a truly holistic view of our permanent and external workers,鈥� McKinley said. 鈥淭his has not only improved the employee experience and given us richer insights into our entire workforce but has also helped set the foundation for strategic corporate planning, integrated talent management, and management of regulatory requirements.鈥�

Standard Chartered is now focused on leveraging and expanding future-ready workforce capabilities by using the 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud solution for workforce planning. McKinley described how the collaboration of the HR and finance teams is building success for the organization: 鈥淲e鈥檙e working closely with our finance colleagues to bring finance and HR data together a little more seamlessly through the use of 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud, with a view to actually making a difference to bottom-up planning through our corporate plan.鈥�

She noted, 鈥淭he value that will create, by moving agreed workforce modelling into the position charts, I think will be a game changer for us in terms of our future workforce planning and skills planning.鈥�

Total Workforce Management from 麻豆原创

A total workforce management strategy allows businesses to keep the whole workforce in focus for increased agility, productivity, and bottom-line impact. 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solutions combined with 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions can deliver value and efficiency by providing a single view of the entire workforce, allowing managers to onboard, oversee, and pay employees and contingent workers in one place. Organizations using 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solutions 57% greater HR process speed, 54% reduction in time spent by managers on administrative HR, and 40% less time required to fill positions. Organizations using 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions saw 7.81% savings through competitive candidate sourcing and 16.4% lower project budgets.

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The U.S. Senate held hearings Tuesday, quizzing the Federal Reserve about what went wrong with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and what could have been done to prevent its failure. The run on SVB and its subsequent collapse spread to other regional banks, some with the same problems and at least one other, First Republic Bank, just because of its association with San Francisco.

麻豆原创鈥檚 Take

Falk Rieker, global head of 麻豆原创’s Industry Banking Unit, said that overall the banks that faltered — SVB, Signature Bank, Silvergate Bank and First Republic — had five things in common: a lack of a comprehensive risk management framework; weak internal controls and financial reporting; a specialized business model that focused on one industry instead of being diversified; the loss of customer and investors; and a rising interest rate environment that led to vulnerability to short sellers. In fact, from April 2022 to January 2023 during a rising interest rate environment, SVB had no chief risk officer.

鈥淭his created a perfect storm,鈥� Rieker said. 鈥淚 think what you learn from that is that all these institutions have to put a priority on all other institutions, a priority on technology and a priority on staying compliant in order to reduce the risk and to manage financial performance. Last but not least, it shines a spotlight on the human beings in these organizations: if you don’t have people who have the skills in place, even the best technology will not help you.鈥�

Among the reasons why SVB — the bank of startups and venture capitalists (VCs) — failed is that its customers were tightly connected to the technology startup and venture capital industries. Its assets also were concentrated in U.S. Treasury bills, which lost value as interest rates spiked.

Silvergate Bank, which concentrated in cryptocurrency, failed next, a ruination exacerbated by the challenges facing the crypto industry and the failure of FTX trading platform. The contagion spread to New York-based Signature Bank because of its size and the fact that it had some exposure to cryptocurrency.

Finally, First Republic Bank failed by association to San Francisco, the source of 40% of its deposits. That means exposure to VCs and startups. Although 60% of its loans were mortgages on single-family homes, more than 10% of its borrowers are VCs and startups.

While technology cannot ensure that people pay attention or choose the right path, it can make an impact. First, it can make a big impact on financial reporting and analytics, which can gauge a bank鈥檚 health on a daily basis. 鈥淭he table stakes of running a bank include understanding where you are with your business,鈥� Rieker said.

Second is data management, because if the quality of the data is poor it can result in misleading results.

Third is enterprise risk management, helping manage interest rate risk, liquidity risk, credit risk and operation risk. Technology can produce scenarios that reflect how a bank fairs under any risk condition. 鈥淭his is absolutely key,鈥� Rieker said. 鈥淥therwise, you’re driving without lights in the middle of the night.鈥�

Last is human capital management solutions to help attract the best talent in an environment where new industries, such as technology or life sciences, now compete for the same talent.

Contact:
Ilaina Jonas, Senior Director of Global聽Public Relations, 麻豆原创
+1 (646) 923-2834, 聽ilaina.jonas@sap.com

Industry innovation has been a fascinating topic over the last few years. It鈥檚 impossible to ignore how companies create new offerings and experiences that dramatically shift how an industry 鈥� or in some cases, multiple industries 鈥� operates and how people live. Such groundbreaking changes are usually built with an appreciation of existing data and technologies and through a desire to do things better in terms of product safety, supply chain optimization, and business finances.

I鈥檝e been very fortunate to experience the power of such industry innovation through the Customer Innovation & Maintenance team as part of the Customer Solution Support & Innovation organization at 麻豆原创. For years, we have worked with various organizations to navigate existing crises, address emerging challenges, and deliver new opportunities for the world. In this article, I will discuss three of our latest projects.

Saving People鈥檚 Lives by Reducing Counterfeit Drugs

One prime example of our efforts is tackling a global menace that impacts the entire world: counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Many falsified or substandard medicines contain dangerous ingredients, such as heavy metals, highway paint, and rat poison, that worsen people鈥檚 health conditions and create new diseases. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than yearly from these snake oil cures.

For years, governments have initiated legislation and regulations to criminalize and control the production and distribution of counterfeit drugs. However, my team discovered that the lack of a rigorous, universal network makes it difficult to curtail the problem often hidden within complex supply chains and sophisticated packaging.

Based on input from 麻豆原创 customers in the life sciences industry and working with 麻豆原创 industry experts on this international challenge, we developed . The industry network hub enables pharmaceutical firms to share product information for traceability and verification across the supply network and with government regulators. Running on and leveraging 麻豆原创 Blockchain Business Services, it is the first public-cloud, industry-specific business network used by more than 45 pharmaceutical firms, over 1,500 trading partners, and 80% of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers.

But our contribution to the fight against counterfeit drugs is far from over. We are working toward adding aid workers from organizations 鈥� such as the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders 鈥� to the hub so they can verify critical medicines and vaccines on the fly in low- to middle-income countries. This innovation is accomplished by integrating the hub into the application.

Accelerating the Development of Lifesaving Therapies

Another barrier to delivering large quantities of medical therapies quickly, efficiently, and safely is the structure of the traditional clinical supply chain. During the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain resilience was highlighted as a critical requirement for providing lifesaving vaccines, prophylactics, and therapies created through industry-wide collaboration and a patient-centric focus.

To accelerate clinical R&D and time to value, my team worked with Roche, Tenthpin, and more than 25 additional customers and vendors connected to the pharmaceutical sector. Together, we reimagined clinical supply operations and brought to life a digital transformation of the entire life sciences ecosystem by developing the solution.

This next-generation cloud solution enables faster clinical supply cycle times, fewer inventory overages, and better-informed decision-making by providing accurate insights into forecasted demand and clinical site stock levels. It is also a milestone in the industry鈥檚 adoption of the cloud, facilitating end-to-end process operations and visibility to plan, source, manufacture, distribute, and reconcile supplies for clinical R&D. In addition, the solution helps address the blinding and randomization needs of clinical trials during the manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and shipment of clinical supplies to hospitals and clinics.

Meeting Financing Needs to Boost Growth

In addition to counterfeit drugs and the need for resilience, supply chain volatility and turbulence is providing the impetus for innovation. This reality is prompting capital investments including end-to-end due diligence and product tracing services; machines and plant setups that improve environmental impacts; and networks for finding, vetting, and onboarding new suppliers quickly.

Incorporating all these innovations into business operations 鈥� regardless of ecosystem size and geographic reach 鈥� requires money that many companies may not have immediately on hand. But to meet those finance needs, businesses and banks need to connect with each other smoothly, quickly, and securely without introducing more work and complexity to finance and treasury processes.

By delivering the solution, we play a key role in increasing the reliability of relationships between companies and their banks. Built on top of 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform, the solution creates a multi-bank, digital channel between each party鈥檚 enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to embed Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard (EBICS) and SWIFT connectivity into the remote data transfer of payment transactions.

In return, treasury operations can be refined and simplified by updating payment status and cash positions in real time across business and bank ERP systems. 麻豆原创 Multi-Bank Connectivity can automate manual, error-prone steps associated with the execution and reconciliation of payments, order-to-cash applications, and order entry documents 鈥� helping to increase control, efficiency, and transparency.

Helping the World Run Better 鈥� One Innovation at a Time

The news headlines running across our screens every day prove that industry innovation is far from done. Unfortunately, no person, organization, or business carries the ultimate wisdom to solve every problem single-handedly. But if industry practitioners, business and technology experts, thought leaders, and inspired problem-solvers collaborate toward a common goal, a better future can be possible for everyone.

It is this vision that guides my leadership of Customer Solution Support & Innovation. My team of experts continuously looks for opportunities to do better for our customers, business, and global neighbors. And with the feedback and knowledge shared during every interaction, we look forward to working side by side with our customers and partners to provide the digital capabilities they need to make the world a better place 鈥� today and in the future.

Andreas Heckmann is executive vice president of Product Engineering and head of Customer Solution Support and Innovation at 麻豆原创. Follow him on and .

Friedrich Raiffeisen, a rural German mayor, came up with a system to collect the savings of farmers and use them to provide a sound financial base for credit, creating the Raiffeisen Cooperative Bank. This form of collective self-help took off in the Netherlands as well, where the Cooperative Central Boerenleenbank was established. In 1972 the two merged into named Rabobank.

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Collaborative, Cooperative

Back then, combining idealistic principles within a聽business聽framework was considered a revolutionary idea. Now, financial institutions around the world are responding to the urgent call to action from the United Nations (UN) to end poverty through and strategies to spur economic growth while tackling climate change to preserve the planet. The bank is particularly keen to strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance, and financial services for all as described in .

What sets Rabobank apart is its mindset. 鈥淲e are a cooperative with members rather than shareholders,鈥� explains Bart Vloet, senior vice president and senior IT lead for Housing at Rabobank. 鈥淐ustomers can demonstrate their involvement in the bank by becoming members. We have over 2 million members, and they steer and approve the bank’s course.鈥�

The idea of mitigating individual financial risks through collective action is behind the bank鈥檚 success. Today, Rabobank is a global leader in food and agricultural financing and . Among the world鈥檚 30 largest financial institutions with operations in 40 countries, it is the premier lender to the world鈥檚 food and agriculture industry. Offering a complete range of financial services, Rabobank is market leader in nearly all customer and product segments where it operates, from youth to startups and from individual mortgages to large enterprise financing.

Vloet is responsible for the company鈥檚 IT strategy for mortgage and commercial loans, which includes digitizing mortgage services and data management and using intelligent tools and robotics to deliver customer services.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been using 麻豆原创 core banking solutions for decades,鈥� explains Vloet. 鈥淣ow, it鈥檚 all about digitalization to provide an efficient customer journey. All our mortgage sales and services are available online.鈥�

Customers and employees may have been somewhat hesitant at first to manage all their processes strictly online, but since the onset of the pandemic, adoption has been speedy. Vloet explains that modernizing processes with 麻豆原创 solutions has made it easier to eliminate long paper trails. 麻豆原创 offers real-time services, and the quality of data is much better. In the past it took months to process a loan; now, it can be approved instantly.

The digital core is a key requisite for launching new products quickly, while also keeping up with customer demand for better service and customization.

Intelligent, Inclusive

Digitalization has dramatically reduced the need for manual work. What Vloet finds especially exciting is that automating processes has freed up employees to engage more directly with customers. Thanks to greater data transparency and intelligent tools, 搁补产辞产补苍办鈥檚 staff has much greater insight into the customer鈥檚 financial situation. They are better able to guide the customer鈥檚 choices and proactively offer the best products or packages. Deeply rooted in the communities where it operates, the company has developed mobile apps and in-person services to help people of all ages and backgrounds improve their financial health.

搁补产辞产补苍办鈥檚 is to promote financial well-being and security for customers and their communities, whether that means finding a comfortable home, performing meaningful work, or investing in a business. That includes removing barriers to financial products and services and increasing access to affordable, sustainable housing. Through these efforts, Rabobank aims for more diversity and inclusion in society at large.

From 搁补产辞产补苍办鈥檚 point of view, all these transitions and themes are intertwined. For example, climate change is driving more people into poverty and preventing inclusion. In the Netherlands, there are more than 550,000 households where people are , meaning that their energy bills are high and they either have no money to invest in sustainable solutions that would reduce monthly costs or they are not allowed to because of a rental agreement. This creates inequality and negatively impacts the transition to a more inclusive society.

Rabobank is committed to helping customers overcome money worries through better financial planning and tailored savings options to cover unexpected expenses, a home purchase, or early retirement.

Reaching these goals requires a highly efficient team running the best technology available. Inspired by 麻豆原创, Vloet envisions a digital future where more embedded services will make the customer and employee journey equally satisfying.

鈥淲e have a very complex IT infrastructure,鈥� says Vloet. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to pull out and replace legacy systems because they are all interdependent and connected. 麻豆原创 helps us hugely by simplifying the process, and 麻豆原创鈥檚 extension platform also enables us to build what we need in a sustainable way.鈥�

No single company can end poverty or spur economic growth on its own. Whether by automating the mortgage value chain or delivering top notch solutions for agricultural financing, 麻豆原创 is enabling Rabobank in its mission to help drive sustainable development and a better future for people and the planet.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has plenty on its plate. Over the next two days, the Board鈥檚 policy-making Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is meeting and is widely expected to announce another interest rate hike as it battles to tame the highest inflation rate the U.S. has seen for 40 years.

麻豆原创鈥檚 Take

While stemming inflation is at the top of the Fed鈥檚 agenda, the U.S. central bank, like its counterparts overseas, faces other key decisions that will shape the money and banking landscape of the future. Chief concerns include how to respond to the highly volatile cryptocurrency markets and whether to implement central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Torsten Hoffmann, chief technology innovation officer for 麻豆原创 Banking, notes that CBDCs are quickly gaining traction across the traditional finance landscape. Currently, he says more than 60 central banks are exploring the possibility of launching CBDCs. Among them, is actively working on its plan to connect to Hong Kong鈥檚 Fast Payment system, and is accelerating its study and preparations for the possibility of a digital shekel.

The move toward CBDCs was given additional impetus after Facebook (now Meta) announced its — a project that Meta formally abandoned this month.

鈥淭his was not a surprise, as the project faced a lot of resistance from government entities since the beginning,” says Hoffmann. 鈥淐urrencies are a key pillar of the government鈥檚 ability to stay in control, to influence the economy, or to manage crisis. There is a kind of competitive situation between government and private initiatives.鈥�

While these innovative moves have the potential to completely alter the banking landscape, Hoffmann believes that to truly ready themselves for this new digital reality, CBDCs need to remain at the forefront of technology adoption.

鈥淎 CBDC would ideally be designed to facilitate transactions across borders, including cross-currency payments, and remittances,鈥� Hoffmann said in a . 鈥淏y reducing dependency on physical currency [cash], lowering transaction costs, and reducing settlement risk, CBDCs would essentially be safeguarding monetary and financial stability for a nation.鈥�

CBDCs can also provide an avenue for direct interaction with citizens of respective countries. In the case of a crisis, this could literally save lives at times when speed is crucial, bypassing the complex and indirect approach taken by the private bank sector, which often causes delayed payments.

The advent of Central Bank-issued digital currencies would have other repercussions for the private banking sector. Nearly half of financial institutions responding to a OneSpan study late last year said that regulatory compliance had slowed additional digital transformation. But despite the security and regulatory challenges that private banks face, 84% of banking leaders are still taking steps to prepare for CBDCs over the coming year and are turning to technology companies like 麻豆原创 to help them prepare to compete.

Hoffmann said that 麻豆原创 can support the players in multiple ways. For example, 鈥渂y optimizing and bulletproofing processes; connecting banks and companies to the payment, lending, and procurement networks; and by providing accounting, risk, and compliance solutions for all relevant entities.鈥�

Contact:
Joellen Perry, Head of聽Global Public Relations, 麻豆原创
+1 (626) 265-0370,聽joellen.perry@sap.com, PST