AI to Act as Virtual CFO and COO for SMEs, Says Ant Group Chairman

Overview

Ant Group Chairman Eric Jing announced at the Singapore Fintech Festival that AI will increasingly function as a virtual CFO and COO for SMEs. This development aims to address SMEs' challenges in handling complex financial operations due to limited digital skills and manpower.

Key Insights

AI as Virtual CFO/COO: AI tools will help SMEs manage payment flows, risk checks, and cross-border transactions.
- Evidence: Eric Jing's speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival.
- Verifiable: Yes
Antom Copilot: Automates payment integration, reducing time by over 90% and improving chargeback rates by 3%.
- Evidence: Ant Group's internal data.
- Verifiable: Yes
EPOS360 Launch: Combines POS, payments, banking, and lending for SMEs.
- Evidence: Product launch details.
- Verifiable: Yes
MAS Collaboration: Ant International works with MAS on tokenised settlement and AI development.
- Evidence: Participation in MAS' Project Guardian.
- Verifiable: Yes

BFSI Relevance

Why Relevant: AI tools can significantly enhance operational efficiency for SMEs, enabling them to compete globally.
Primary Sector: Financial Services
Subsectors: SME Banking, Payments
Actionable Implications:
- Explore AI solutions for operational efficiency.
- Collaborate with fintechs for AI integration.
- Monitor regulatory developments in AI and tokenisation.