VIDEO INTERVIEW: The CEO of Malaysia’s Hong Leong Bank, Raja Teh Maimunah, told Mobile World Live that while banks are not necessarily agile in adapting to change, there is still an opportunity to provide services in the mobile space by, for instance, collaborating with telcos.

“One of the biggest challenges we face is our IT legacy system,” commented Maimunah, who believes in the mantra “if we don’t innovate, we will perish” and does not see non-banks as a threat.

She feels banks still have a big role to play in the mobile banking space, not least because in most of Asia regulation does not allow non-banks to drive payments.

Many emerging markets in Asia have high mobile penetration but not high bank penetration, and this is where mobile comes in.

Hong Leong Bank has rolled out a mobile-to-mobile payment system to help those who do not have access to banks as well as to facilitate the micro SME market and drive entrepreneurship.

By making use of its “huge network of cash machines” Hong Leong has been able to “bring analogue and mobile together.”

It has also introduced a cross-border remittance transfer service between Malaysia and Indonesia in partnership with Telkom Indonesia.

Maimunah believes telcos in emerging markets “play a critical role” in the mobile space because they have more outlets than banks and can help banks “in terms of cashing out and providing money through air time,” as well as providing good network and connectivity.

“Moving forward, I see more collaboration with telcos for OTT services,” she added.

To view the full interview, click here.