In February 2019, Citi TTS organized the ASEAN FinTech Accelerance Program which aims to accelerate the delivery of FinTech to solve challenges faced by Citi’s corporate clients. EY helped Citi define the key problem statements, reached out and evaluated relevant FinTechs, leading to 6 FinTechs being paid to develop Proof of Concepts (POCs) and subsequently market-ready solutions for Citi by December 2019.

1. How a global bank
leveraged FinTech
solutions to drive
greater digitalization
in their corporate
banking business

2. Introduction:
Citibank, founded in 1812, is a global bank with a total revenue of $18.6b as at
2019 Q1.1 It has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in
more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS)
Innovation Lab, the first lab of its kind in Singapore, opened in 2011 with the aim
to conduct research, experiment and create prototypes of digital solutions for their
institutional clients.2
In February 2019, Citi TTS organized the ASEAN FinTechAccelerance Program
which aims to accelerate the delivery of FinTech to solve challenges faced by Citi’s
corporate clients.
EY helped Citi define the key problem statements, reached out and evaluated
relevant FinTechs, leading to 6 FinTechs being paid to develop Proof of Concepts
(POCs) and subsequently market-ready solutions for Citi by December 2019.
Sources:
1. https://www.citigroup.com/citi/about/data/citi_at_a_glance.pdf?ieNocache=564
2. https://www.citigroup.com/citi/news/2018/180212b.htm

3. Can adoption of FinTech solutions
help optimize a bank’s services?
Legacy institutions need to digitalize to stay abreast with rapidly
changing customer needs
Sources:
3. https://thefinancialbrand.com/55543/
Transformative innovation is no stranger to retail banking, with many operations currently
online. Corporate banks however, are moving at a slower pace as more than 54% of
bankers believe that banks are not doing enough to embrace the digital age.3
Corporate clients are now looking for more technology-enabled services, such as
digitalization of trade documents, digital insurance offerings and enhanced QR code-
related products to make business transactions more effective.
As the demands from corporate banking clients evolve and technology proliferates, it is
critical for legacy institutions to invest in digital transformation to improve the way they
serve corporate clients and stay competitive.
Citi TTS planned to target three fronts — Payments, Trading and Ecosystems and looked
for FinTechs which provide readymade solutions to minimize time to market. Citi engaged
EY to help find the suitable providers.

4. Fostering close collaboration between
FinTechs and Citi
EY helped Citi define problem statements and helped FinTech
refine their solutions to fit the bank’s needs.
With support from EY, on February 1, 2019, Citi TTS Innovation Lab Singapore launched
the ASEAN FinTechAccelerance Program, a nine-month program dedicated to drive
delivery of FinTech solutions to Citi TTS clients.
Subheadline 1: Aligning and defining problem statements
EY helped to craft specific problem statements in areas including C2B Collections, Trade
Finance and Ecosystems. The problem statements were:
1. C2B Collections: Last mile partnerships for domestic and cross border omni-channel
collections (e.g., QR code, eWallets, digitizing cash)
2. Trade Finance: Identify opportunities in digitizing processes and documentation
throughout the trade lifecycle; solve for financing opportunities throughout the supply
chain ecosystem
3. Ecosystems: Leverage emerging technologies to unlock ecosystems (e.g. Insurance
and Automobiles) and explore new client businessmodels.

5. (Continued)
Subheadline 2: Identifying and assessing FinTechs
In 2018, EY conducted a similar search to produce a curated list of 6 solution providers
that resolved problem statements from the Citi Global Consumer Bank, the retail arm of
Citi. EY then organized for these FinTechs to present to Citi during the Singapore FinTech
Festival 2018. Three of these finalists were chosen to work with Citi.
The takeaways from this prior engagement, coupled with domain expertise, allowed EY
to better advise Citi on the selection of relevant FinTechs that can provide sustainable
solutions.
Leveraging its contact database and network with Singapore FinTech Association and
the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), EY supported the event outreach. Within a
week of the opening of sign-ups on March 19, 2019, EY reached out to more than 3,000
FinTechs in the region.
After the initial sign-ups and virtual presentations, EY also lent its support to Citi during
the two FinTech shortlisting rounds from April 12 to 19 2019 and the Design Sprint that
fell on April 22 to 26 2019. The Design Sprint, conceptualized to ensure the FinTechs
aligned their products’ value proposition with Citi’s problem statements, prepared the
FinTechs for the presentation to Citi executives on the Citi TTS ASEAN FinTech Day held
on 26 April 2019.
Six of the final eight FinTech teams that presented were recognized by Citi’s panel of
judges as either the most innovative, client-centric or scalable solutions.
“The EY team value-added to the event at
various key stages with our knowledge of the
FinTech industry. By equipping the bank with
the capability to identify potential areas of
cooperation with FinTechs and to evaluate the
FinTechsfor partnerships, EY help buildmutual
understanding and better working ties between
the FinTechs and Citi”.
Juan Madera Jimenez
Partner, FSO, IT Advisory,
Ernst & Young SolutionsLLP.

6. Technology-powered products
addressing challenges faced by Citi’s
corporate clients
Partnerships with selected FinTech players are expected to
accelerate the delivery of innovative solutions
Sources:
5. https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-asean-fintech-census-2018/$FILE/
EY-asean-fintech-census-2018.pdf
The process thus far has allowed Citi and the FinTechs to gain the insights needed to
move on to the next phases of the Accelerance Program to develop POCs and launch
solutions.
Citi has activated relationships with key ecosystem partners, including accelerators,
FinTech associations, innovative FinTechs, which will empower Citi in their future
engagements in the FinTech industry.
For FinTechs, this event brought them one step closer towards fostering successful
partnerships with large financial institutions as they have gained a better understanding on
how they can value-add to banking partners.
The ASEAN region, and specifically Singapore, continue to be hotbeds for FinTech
innovation and cooperation between FinTechs and banks. Numerous EY reports, including
the ASEAN FinTech Census 2018 highlighted that going forward, the ASEAN financial
services industry can expect more collaboration and convergence. Many banks are
currently working with FinTechs and have incubators, accelerators or innovation labs to
facilitate FinTech engagements. Some ASEAN banks have also launched FinTech-focused
investment funds.5

7. (Continued)
Continued collaboration between banks and FinTechs create a win-win situation for all
players in the financial services industry. Through the fostering of closer cooperation,
incumbents will be able to capitalize on the range of innovative products offered by
FinTechs to develop customer-centric services that are more efficient and effective.
EY remains dedicated to building a better FinTech ecosystem by fostering collaboration
among stakeholders. The Accelerance Program and Citi TTS ASEAN FinTech Day are
testament to how companies can converge and fuel further innovation that will create a
better working world.
“Introducing technology to any long-established
industry is no easy feat. Therefore, it is pivotal
to facilitate the successful collaborationbetween
legacy institutions and FinTechs as it sets the
precedence for more of these partnerships,
and provides confidence for other financial
institutions to follow suit”.
Varun Mittal
Associate Partner, EY Global Emerging Markets
FinTech Leader, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP

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