Technology empowering an increasingly connected SEA for financially inclusive communities

SINGAPORE, March 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ant Financial Services Group ("Ant Financial" or "Ant") today wrapped up its participation at Money20/20 Asia in Singapore with the Ant Technology Exploration Conference (ATEC), with guests Giri Jadeja, Global Head of Financial Innovation at International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer at Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sharing their views on financial inclusion alongside Cheng Li, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operations Officer for global business group at Ant Financial.

Giri Jadeja shared his vision as global head of financial innovation at IFC - to reach out to the 2 billion unbanked and underserved population in the world, the majority of whom reside in Asia. The region has in recent years seen an exponential growth of new fintech companies.  Giri is optimistic that technological changes in areas such as connectivity, blockchain and artificial intelligence will spur new applications to improve people's lives in the near future. Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), also shared his vision for Singapore's Smart Nation initiative at ATEC.

B.A.S.I.C  of Ant Technologies
Speaking on the B.A.S.I.C that forms the building blocks of Ant's technologies, Cheng Li explained the importance of each: blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), security, Internet of Things, and computing. From using blockchain as the new trust mechanism to improve the transparency and traceability of ecommerce supply chains or charity funds, to using artificial intelligence to reduce Ant's payment risk to less than one in a million, or answering millions of customer inquiries a day, Ant is showing how new technology can be applied to their business to solve previously challenging issues and provide inclusive financial services.  

Other Ant technology experts also shared the latest user applications in blockchain, AI and security with the audience.

The last ATEC session featured a panel moderated by Douglas Feagin, senior vice president of global business at Ant Financial, featuring regional e-payment wallet operators, Anthony Thomas, chief executive officer of Mynt, Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa, chief executive officer of Ascend Group, Syahrunizam Tan Sri Samsudin, chief executive officer of Touch 'N Go Digital Sdn Bhd, and Vince Iswara, chief executive officer of Dana. Faced with a high-growth Southeast Asian market where there is high percentage of unbanked or underserved population, the discussion centered on technology trends that have caught on and how it has changed the way people go about their daily lives.         

The next ATEC will be taking place in London, June 2018.

About Ant Financial

Ant Financial Services Group is focused on serving small and micro enterprises, as well as individuals. Ant Financial is dedicated to bringing the world more equal opportunities through building a technology-driven open ecosystem and working with other financial institutions to support the future financial needs of society. Brands under Ant Financial Services Group include Alipay, Ant Fortune, Zhima Credit and MYbank.

For more information on Ant Financial, please visit our website at www.antfin.com or follow us on Twitter @AntFinancial.

For media queries, contact: 
Vanessa Seow
+65 9723 9743 
Vanessa.seow@antfin.com

Anna Wang 
+86 18650175983
Anna.wan@antfin.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e4597781-c445-4420-bbb8-051734f1a34c