• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, January 4, 2022

Publicis Groupe’s digital transformation specialist Publicis Sapient has teamed with Siam Commercial Bank to launch a fintech joint venture that will serve clients throughout Southeast Asia.

The venture, called SCB Tech X, is positioned as a platform-as-a-service business that will provide online banking services and non-banking services, such as food delivery and online travel booking.

The joint venture, which begins with 1,200 employees, will be owned 60% by SCB and 40% by Publicis Sapient. Trirat Suwanprateeb, SCB’s senior executive vice president and Chief Technology Officer, will become CEO of SCB Tech X, and Jonathan Sharp, managing director at Publicis Sapient Southeast Asia, will join the new venture as CTO.

The venture is being formed amid estimates that digital payments will exceed $1 trillion in transaction value in the region by 2025.

Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient, said: “This is a pivotal moment for personal finance and ecommerce globally, but particularly in Southeast Asia, where the market is growing exponentially.” The venture “is poised to usher in the next generation of banking.”