Deutsche Bank announced that it will introduce WeChat (Known as Weixin in mainland China) on its Symphony platform, backing a partnership between Symphony and Tencent to connect Symphony’s community of 450,000 global markets professionals with the WeChat network.
The WeChat Symphony solution will create a more seamless and digital client experience for clients in Asia, particularly Chinese clients.
Deutsche Bank is one of four international banks participating in Symphony’s Joint Development Program which will see WeChat integrated with Symphony’s collaboration platform, securely and within a rigorous regulatory compliant framework. It allows Deutsche Bank to communicate with clients on WeChat in real-time while maintaining compliance and governance policies.
Chief Information Officer for Investment and Corporate Bank, Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific, Chris Bezuidenhout said: “WeChat is to China what WhatsApp is to the rest of the world; it is the primary communication channel country-wide. Deutsche Bank is thrilled to be part of the team that created a solution to communicate seamlessly with our Chinese clients, that’s convenient for them while upholding rigorous compliance and security standards.”
Deutsche Bank’s Chinese corporate clients will soon be able to use the WeChat integration with Symphony to complete multiple steps in the FX trade process. The client will be able to use WeChat to support pre-trade services such as FX rate transparency, including obtaining the RMB exchange rate for conversion into other currencies and documentation process flows, while meeting all compliance and regulatory standards.
Head of Corporate Bank and Fixed Income and Currencies, Asia Pacific, David Lynne said: “The Symphony WeChat service has the potential to transform how our Chinese clients engage and do business with us. This pioneering solution reflects our commitment to our Chinese clients and China as one of our most important growth markets, and highlights the continued digitalisation of our platform.
“We are preparing to rollout WeChat for Asia local markets and onboard clients by the end of the year,” Lynne said.
Deutsche Bank’s Asia Pacific Innovation team led the Symphony WeChat collaboration. It is one of the first technology transfer initiatives driven out of the Asia Pacific Innovation Lab which launched last November, and marks the Innovation Lab’s first anniversary.
Head of Asia Pacific Innovation, Marcus Trotter said: “One of our key objectives as an innovation team is to scout for ecosystem partners who can help solve real business challenges. Successfully partnering with Symphony to integrate WeChat for our Asia markets business is a major milestone in our digitalisation journey, and one which reflects our ongoing commitment to innovate for the benefit of our clients.