The company built a digital ecosystem that sped up account opening, supported cash flow management, and gave SMEs a consolidated view across multiple banks.

Shanghai Commercial Bank (Shacom Bank) received the Hong Kong Customer Experience Innovation of the Year – Financial Services at the Asian Innovation Excellence Awards 2026 for its integrated SME banking ecosystem. The initiative brought together biometric-enabled digital onboarding, a Smart Working Capital Solution, and an Interbank Analytics Platform to address account-opening delays, fragmented financial information, manual reconciliation, and financing constraints faced by SMEs.

Digital onboarding formed the first part of the ecosystem. Biometric electronic know-your-customer technology shortened the account-opening process, whilst the bank’s online onboarding and loan application platform supported growth in new corporate and SME customers. Automated compliance checks and company-search workflows also reduced administrative work internally, allowing relationship managers to spend less time on routine processing.

Cash flow management was addressed through the Smart Working Capital Solution. Verified real-time cargo data was used to automate settlement between buyers and sellers. Sellers received payment sooner, whilst buyers were given longer payment periods, reducing some of the timing pressures associated with trade transactions.

A separate Interbank Financial Insights brought information from multiple banking relationships into one dashboard. Its functions covered cash flow visibility, balance tracking, payment cycle analysis, and anomaly alerts, cutting the amount of manual reconciliation required across different accounts.

Rather than positioning the three initiatives as standalone services, Shacom Bank linked them across the SME banking journey. Business owners could gain a broader view of their financial position, whilst digital processes reduced administrative requirements across onboarding, financing, and ongoing financial monitoring.

Internal workflows changed as well. Automation took over parts of compliance checking and information gathering, giving relationship managers more capacity for advisory work and direct customer support.

Further analytical functions and expansion across the Greater Bay Area are planned, with continued attention to SME banking processes, access to financial information, and working-capital management.

The Asian Innovation Excellence Awards honours companies that achieve measurable outcomes and address key challenges through innovation and operational improvement, recognising initiatives that drive meaningful progress across diverse industries in the region.

The Asian Innovation Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review. To view the full list of winners, click here. For more information about the awards programme, you may reach Czarina Villanueva at +65 3158 1386 ext. 220 or [email protected].