National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) director-general Chea Serey was tapped on May 6 as an International Council Member of Singapore-headquartered Global FinTech Institute (GFI) at a virtual council meeting.

The appointment was in recognition for her achievements in harnessing financial technology and innovation to create and unlock opportunities for those underserved by traditional models of financial services.

Serey said in a Facebook post: "Today I am very honoured to be appointed as an International Council Member – along with other very respectable individuals in academia, and public and private sectors – of the Global FinTech Institute, Singapore University of Social Sciences.

"I was also pleased to witness the MoU [memorandum of understanding] signing between GFI and Journal of FinTech and World Scientific Publishing Company."

Under her directorship, NBC on October 27th launched an inter-bank mobile payment platform, known as the “Bakong System”, aiming to give a powerful impetus to rural financial sector development and nurturing financial inclusivity in the Kingdom.

Bakong enables interoperability between banks and financial institutions that is safe and cost-effective.

According to Serey, Bakong is a “backbone payment system” with the primary objectives of enabling payments between banks and financial institutions, improving the efficiency and safety of the payment system, boosting financial inclusion and promoting cashless payments in the local currency.

GFI pitches itself as “a global professional credentialing body dedicated to creating greater collaboration, advocacy, ethics and knowledge for all fintech professionals”.