NBC’s Serey honoured as ‘game changer’ of finance
NAT IONA L Ba n k of Ca mbod ia (NBC) director-general Chea Serey’s ef forts towards t he digita lisation of t he f inancia l industr y and greater inclusion into the burgeoning sector have been honoured with a “Future of Payments Award”.
She received t he prize – reser ved for “game changers of the payments industr y” – at the Singapore Fintech Festival on December 8, which was hosted by the Budapest Institute of
Ba n k i ng ( BIB) a nd t he L ondonbased Centre for Finance, Technolog y and Entrepreneurship (CFTE).
Speaking at the awards ceremony, BIB CEO Gergely Fabian said Serey has fast-tracked the Kingdom’s digital transformation through her guidance in the development of the blockchain-driven Bakong system.
“The NBC’s initiative seeks out the newer generation and introduces them to a better system that uses blockchain technology. Under that innovative policy, the inter-bank market may be developed and the use of local currency can be encouraged,” he said.
Serey expressed her gratitude for her “incredible team” at the NBC. “Without them my ideas would just be ideas.
“To the girls and women of small developing countries like mine, anything is possible when you set your heart on it regardless of your gender or where you come from,” she said.
On October 28, the NBC officially launched Bakong, which, according to Serey, would enable interoperability between banks and financial institutions that is safe, efficient and costeffective, give a powerful impetus to rural financial sector development and nurture financial inclusivity.
Speaking at the launch, Serey said Ba kong would prov ide sea mless, cash less e-pay ments to help promote socia l welfare and prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“Online payments can also be made through the Bakong system, which also offers alternative options for . . . transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, sending and receiving [via] e-wallet,” Serey said then.
Shin Chang-moo, the president of South Korean-owned Phnom Penh Commercia l Bank Plc (PPCBank), ag reed t hat Sere y deser ved t he award, pointing out that Bakong had put Cambodia in the spotlight of the globa l f inancial scene.
He said the NBC is recognised as one of the most innovative regulators for its progressive efforts to build and nurture financial infrastructures for fostering financial inclusion.
“Personally, I believe NBC achieved in less than five years what [South] Korea took 20 years to achieve, a good example of leapfrogging in financial system. As one of the private financial sector players, I am so proud of her award,” Shin said.