Citi's Global Transactions Services (GTS) business has opened an innovation lab in Singapore to showcase new Web, mobile, supply chain and analytics technologies to institutional clients.
The lab, which is modelled on similar centres in San Francisco and Dublin, comprises a Client Experience Centre and a Client Collaboration Centre and is staffed by 12 people, comprising GTS product experts and professionals from outside the banking industry.
Citi says it currently has ten clients using the facilities to test business propositions ranging from working capital provision, intelligent cash forecasting and instant reconciliations.
It cites a recent example of a mobile collections system developed for Coca Cola in India, Korea and China to capture its C2B digital payment flows. The mobile browser-based application allows clients to receive notifications and authorise payments using their mobile phones.
Anthony Nappi, head of GTS Asia Pacific says: "The lab overcomes the challenge of getting clients to visualise new solutions developed for them, a process that used to take weeks and months can now be done in hours."
Partners for the new lab include the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.