Asia Pacific (APAC) is at the epicenter of digital transformation in financial services. With its high mobile adoption, diverse regulatory environments, and rapid fintech disruption, the region presents both unique challenges and unprecedented opportunities for banks and insurers seeking to transform customer support. Today, leading institutions across APAC are leveraging digital self-service, artificial intelligence (AI), and human-centered design to reduce costs and elevate customer experience—while balancing the nuances of local markets.
APAC leads the world in mobile banking and digital payments. In markets such as India, China, and Southeast Asia, mobile-first consumers expect seamless, 24/7 access to financial services. This digital maturity enables institutions to shift routine interactions to self-service channels, driving down operational costs while raising the bar for customer experience.
Each APAC market—Australia, Singapore, India, Indonesia, and beyond—enforces its own compliance standards and consumer protection laws. This regulatory diversity demands flexible, locally attuned solutions that can scale across borders while remaining compliant. Financial institutions must balance efficiency with responsiveness to evolving regulations, ensuring that digital transformation does not come at the expense of compliance or customer trust.
A vibrant fintech ecosystem is reshaping customer expectations and intensifying competition. Challenger banks and digital-native platforms are setting new standards for speed, personalization, and cost efficiency. Incumbents must accelerate their digital transformation to remain relevant and cost-competitive, adopting new technologies and service models that meet the expectations of digitally savvy customers.
Forward-thinking APAC banks are leveraging analytics and AI to anticipate customer needs and resolve issues before they escalate. By analyzing customer intent and journey data, institutions can introduce interactive self-service options and proactive digital touchpoints for common issues. This approach reduces inbound call volumes, operational overhead, and customer frustration—while freeing up human agents to focus on complex, high-value interactions.
Case Study: Southeast Asia
A leading APAC bank partnered with Publicis Sapient to overhaul its customer support operations. By introducing digital self-service and proactive notifications, the bank reduced call center volumes, improved customer satisfaction, and built a more resilient, cost-effective service model tailored to the region’s mobile-centric customer base.
Redirecting simple queries to digital self-service channels—such as chatbots and mobile apps—while ensuring complex or emotionally charged issues are handled by skilled staff is especially effective in APAC’s mobile-first markets. Human-centered design ensures that every digital and human touchpoint is intuitive, accessible, and aligned with customer needs, reducing friction and operational bottlenecks.
Case Study: Australia
A major Australian bank consolidated 14 disparate employee systems into a single interface, enabling agents to access all necessary information in one place. This reduced training time, decreased turnover, and shortened customer wait times—delivering both cost and experience benefits. Employee enablement is critical in a region where workforce turnover in contact centers is high.
Institutions are investing in cloud and DevOps solutions to accelerate digital product development and scale new services quickly. For example, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) in Thailand launched XPlatform, a cloud-based solution that supports rapid feature releases and new business growth, all while maintaining operational efficiency and compliance.
High turnover rates in APAC contact centers can undermine service quality and increase costs. By providing frontline staff with unified, intuitive tools that consolidate customer data, banks and insurers can reduce training and handling time, improve employee satisfaction, and lower attrition. Empowered employees are better equipped to deliver consistent, high-quality service—critical for customer retention in a competitive market.
Navigating APAC’s regulatory patchwork requires robust compliance frameworks and transparent data practices. Institutions must ensure that digital self-service and AI solutions are designed with privacy and security in mind, building trust with customers and regulators alike.
Experience-led cost reduction is not a one-time project—it’s a continuous journey. As APAC banks and insurers streamline operations and improve customer experience, they reduce costs, free up resources for innovation, and create more loyal, engaged customers. Those who master the art of experience-led, data-driven transformation will define the future of financial services in APAC.
Ready to unlock new value in your APAC operations? Connect with Publicis Sapient to start your transformation journey.