Twimbit Banking Summit 2026 Highlights Customer Experience, AI and Trust as Priorities for Banks in ASEAN
KUALA LUMPUR, 28 October 2026 – As banks across Southeast Asia strengthen their digital capabilities and embrace artificial intelligence (AI), customer experience is emerging as a key competitive differentiator, with institutions needing to look beyond technology adoption to deliver more consistent, intuitive and trusted banking experiences.
This was a central theme at the inaugural Twimbit Banking Summit & Awards 2026, held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Hosted by global research and advisory firm Twimbit, the summit brought together banking leaders, technology experts and industry practitioners from across Southeast Asia to examine how AI, customer experience (CX) and digital trust are shaping the future of banking.
The summit also marked the official unveiling of Twimbit’s flagship report “The State of ASEAN Banking CX 2026”, which benchmarks customer experience maturity across 44 banks including 27 traditional banks and 18 digital banks across six ASEAN markets — Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The report examines how banks can move beyond digitally enabled services towards experience-led differentiation across four key pillars – digital, service, brand and employee experience.
“The conversations at the summit reinforced that the future of banking in ASEAN will be shaped not by technology alone, but by how effectively banks use it to serve their customers. As AI reshapes how banks operate and engage with customers, the real differentiator will be the ability to deliver more meaningful experiences while keeping trust, accountability and the human element at the heart of transformation. Banks that bring these elements together will be better positioned to build lasting customer relationships and compete in an increasingly dynamic market,” said Shivanu Shukla, Senior Vice President, Twimbit.
“Banking is entering a new era where customer experience will be defined not by how quickly an institution responds, but by how well it understands what a customer is trying to accomplish and helps them reach that outcome. Through agentic orchestration, banks can bring together customer context, people and systems across the enterprise to drive faster, more personalized resolutions. As agentic AI takes on greater responsibility to act and make decisions, trust must remain foundational. Banks that pair intelligent orchestration with strong governance and human expertise will be better positioned to strengthen customer loyalty and improve operational efficiency,” said Mao Gen Foo, Vice President, Asia, Genesys.
CX, AI and Trust as the Foundation of Banking Transformation
The summit explored how banks can translate advances in artificial intelligence (AI) into practical value across their operations and customer interactions. The panel on ‘The Agentic Bank: Redefining How Banks Operate, Serve and Compete’ featuring Alvin Eng, Group Head of Enterprise AI Innovation Group at UOB; Ajmal Khan Adam Ashraf, Head of Digital Solutions & Technology Operations at RHB Banking Group; Zulkanain Kassim, CIO of Bank Rakyat Malaysia; Lucose Eralil, former CTOO of Security Bank Corporation; and Mao Gen Foo, VP Asia at Genesys, explored how agentic AI could reshape banking operations, service delivery and customer engagement.
The discussion was complemented by a keynote from Cyrus Daruwala, Global Transformation Speaker at 3A Ventures Asia and the ASEAN Economic Board, on ‘The Autonomous Intelligence Era: An Agent-Driven ASEAN’, exploring the potential implications of agent-driven AI for the region’s banking sector.
As digital capabilities and banking propositions increasingly converge, customer experience is becoming a more important point of differentiation. The panel on ‘The CX Dividend: Why Experience Is Becoming Banking’s Last Differentiator’, brought together Irene Lew Chai Ling, Head of Group CX Malaysia at OCBC Bank; Mila Bedrenets, Chief Growth Hacker at Tonik; Manpreet Tejvir Singh, Managing Director of CIMB Bank; Firdila Sari, Head of Digital Banking Group at PT Bank Mega Tbk; and Chee-Leong Tiew, Head of Digital Workplace & CX – Malaysia at NTT DATA. The discussion examined how banks can move beyond functional digital services to deliver more cohesive and meaningful experiences across the customer journey.
The summit also considered the broader strategic forces shaping ASEAN banking. Sigit Prihatmoko, VP Corporate Innovation Center at Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), shared perspectives on ‘Banking at the Crossroads: Shaping the Future of ASEAN Banking’, while Irwin Mohd Eusoff, Group Chief Corporate Strategy & Sustainability Officer at Affin Group, spoke on ‘The Future of Banking in ASEAN’.
As banks adopt increasingly intelligent and automated capabilities, trust remains central to successful transformation. The panel on ‘Trust as a Competitive Advantage: Building the Bank Customers Believe In’ featured Atty. Romina Angeliz H. Marcaida, AI Policy and Governance Head at UnionBank of the Philippines; Dhanik Patel, Head of Technology Strategy & Governance at GXBank; Kalyan Mukhopadhyay, Consulting Partner & CTO – Financial Services at Kyndryl; and Skunpoj Thanarojsophon, PhD, Assistant Director at the Bank of Thailand. The discussion explored the importance of AI governance, technology strategy and regulatory oversight as banks integrate AI into their services and operations, reinforcing the need to balance innovation with accountability and customer confidence.
Celebrating Banking Excellence in ASEAN
The summit culminated in the Twimbit Banking Awards, celebrating regional financial institutions that have set new standards of excellence in digital innovation and customer experience.
Here are the banks leading the way across ASEAN:
| Best Banking Experience | MY: Maybank SG: DBS ID: Bank Mandiri TH: Krungthai Bank PH: Union Bank of the Philippines VN: Vietcombank |
| Best App Experience | MY: CIMB SG: DBS ID: Bank Mandiri TH: Bangkok Bank PH: Bank of the Philippine Islands VN: Vietcombank |
| Best Onboarding Experience | MY: CIMB SG: DBS ID: Bank Mandiri TH: Siam Commercial Bank PH: Bank of the Philippine Islands VN: VietinBank |
| Best AI Experience | SG: DBS ID: Bank Negara Indonesia TH: Siam Commercial Bank PH: Union Bank of the Philippines VN: Vietcombank |
| Most Inclusive Bank | MY: Maybank SG: UOB ID: Bank Mandiri TH: Siam Commercial Bank PH: Bank of the Philippine Islands VN: VietinBank |
| Best Digital Bank | MY:GXBank SG: Trust Bank ID: Bank Jago PH: GoTyme Bank VN:Timo Digital Bank |
The Twimbit Banking Summit and Awards 2026 was made possible through the support of Platinum Sponsor Genesys, Gold Sponsor NTT Data, Silver Sponsor Capgemini, and Bronze Sponsor Consilium Software.
For further details regarding the summit, award winners, and future research reports, please visit https://aseanbanking.twimbit.com/.