Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 57 - A Path to Financial Inclusion Through Technology with Eelee Lua

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 57 – A Path to Financial Inclusion Through Technology with Eelee Lua

November 8, 2024

Eelee Lua is chief of staff and a director at xcube.co – a Singapore-based corporate venture studio. A seasoned business leader in technology specializing in risk mitigation and strategic partnerships, having entered the risk and compliance field 13 years ago and has previously held roles at AsiaVerify and the RISQ Group.

Eelee holds a board director accreditation from the Singapore Institute of Directors and actively contributes to industry communities such as the Singapore FinTech Association and Women In Alliances.

She recently penned an article entitled “Circular Financial Identity—The Missing Piece for Financial Inclusion,” which forms the basis for this episode’s discussion.

In this installment of Regulatory Ramblings, Eelee talks to host Ajay Shamdasani about her piece and how financial inclusion remains a critical global issue, with approximately 1.4 billion people still lacking access to formal financial services. She also shared a little about Defy, an xcube company on a mission to address financial inclusion. Her observation that traditional financial systems often exclude marginalized populations, such as low-income individuals, women, rural communities, and refugees, compelled her to write the article. Financial exclusion not only limits economic opportunities but also perpetuates poverty.

Yet, all is not lost, and Eelee believes technology may deliver true financial inclusion. A promising solution to bridge this gap is Circular Financial Identity (CFI), she says, “which has the potential to transform financial inclusion efforts worldwide.” The key, she says, is understanding CFI because “unlike traditional digital identities that rely on static information and centralized databases, CFI employs a dynamic, decentralized, and interoperable system,” – thereby enabling “under-documented individuals, including refugees, to gradually build their financial identity by capturing their digital financial footprint across various domains such as earning, spending, borrowing, saving, investing, and lending.”

Eelee says the circularity of data, particularly the continuous accumulation and reuse of financial data, creates a comprehensive, robust, and evolving picture of their financial behavior and capabilities, enabling access to a broader range of financial services.

“Circular Financial Identity represents a transformative approach to enhancing financial inclusion. By leveraging digital technologies, CFI can provide underserved populations, including refugees, access to essential financial services, reduce costs, and empower marginalized groups. While challenges remain, the potential benefits of CFI make it a critical piece in achieving universal financial inclusion,” she says.

Eelee also shares a little about her background, upbringing, education, and what launched her toward a career in compliance. She also describes what Xcube does and her own “moment of epiphany” when she realized that the world of cryptocurrencies and digital assets was something important that she needed to pay attention to in the coming years.

Looking ahead, while she thinks Web3 will have a marked impact on banking in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, she cautions that many of the world’s financial institutions have yet to consider the interoperability and integration issues of using such technologies in the current world.

A resolute believer in the power of targeted technology use to aid the perennial global cause of financial inclusion and bring about a more egalitarian world with a more level playing field, the conversation concludes with her reflections on a decade plus in the risk and compliance field and her greatest lessons, challenges, and regrets during that time.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong – Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

Useful links in this episode: