Commonwealth Bank launches innovation lab in Hong Kong

HONG KONG - Commonwealth Bank  has launched an innovation lab in Hong Kong and has plans to launch another in London later this year, after the successful set-up of its innovation lab in Sydney.

The Australian bank said its labs aim to link customers, employees and start-up communities to the latest FinTech developments.

Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, group executive of institutional banking and markets at the bank, said: "Hong Kong's highly developed financial sector, strong entrepreneurial culture and proximity to China makes it the optimal location for us to establish an innovation presence in Asia. The Hong Kong Lab will allow us to partner with the brightest minds across the city's accelerator, government, university, start-up and FinTech communities to further develop creative and innovative solutions for our clients."

The Hong Kong Lab's three main zones are:

- The incubation garage space which helps cross-functional project teams work together on bringing ideas to life.

- The collaboration hub which encourages co-creation with clients to find bespoke solutions, deep dive into specific challenges and test prototypes.

- The usability room which provides clients with a live testing facility and the latest eye-tracking technology to improve their digital platforms.

"The strong interest in our Sydney innovation lab demonstrates the emphasis business and government place on innovation as an integral part to a successful future. In just one year, the Sydney Innovation Lab hosted over 40,000 guests, successfully built a live blockchain and collaborated with major Australian corporates, government organisations and universities to experiment with future technology," Ms Bayer Rosmarin said.

ljessica@sph.com.sg