Winning big with DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx)

If you haven’t heard, DBS has been crowned the Global and APAC winner for The Banker’s Most Innovative in Digital Banking 2021, and DDEx was one of the key projects that made this possible! DDex was based on one of the nine Big Themes that was identified by DBS, and is a testament to the importance of experimenting, innovating and pushing the boundaries of Big Themes in technology. We spoke to Daniel Lee, Team lead at DDex, to find out more about how the project came about and what it is like to work on a project of such scale.

DDEx was a huge project for DBS. Can you share with us the story behind DDEx?

Daniel: When I was the Head of Electronic Trading, I was exposed to cryptocurrency while servicing the High Frequency Traders (HFT) who moved into crypto in 2017. I learnt the basics of trading in cryptocurrencies from them and subsequently in 2018, DBS sent me for an Executive Education programme on Fintech at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

During the course of the programme, I formulated this idea of having a Digital Exchange in DBS. When I mooted this idea to my immediate boss, he told me that I needed to get at least one of the Group Business Unit Heads to support this proposal. To cut a long story short, I waited for Seat Moey, the Group Head of Capital Markets at the lift lobby in MBFC and gave her a 5 minutes pitch on the proposal. I was asked to write a paper on the proposal, which was circulated to various senior members in the Bank, including Eric Ang (Senior Adviser of the Bank), who thought that this was a good idea. Seat then assigned other staff from various departments to form a team and to work on a detailed proposal.

We presented the idea to Piyush Gupta, Group CEO at DBS Bank, with the support from Han Kwee Juan, Group Head of Strategy & Planning and Lam Chee Kin, Group Head of Legal, Compliance & Secretariat. Subsequently we went to the DBS EXCO for approval of the project.

What does it take to create a first of its kind offering like DDEx?

Daniel: I’d say teamwork was the most important factor to make this happen. There are many parts of the Bank that have expertise in specific areas for such an offering. For example, blockchain technology from IBG Tech, Tax matters from Group Tax, Corporate Finance for Security Tokens from Capital Markets, etc. However, the key was to get the various teams together, to share their expertise so that we could create DDEx.

What were the biggest challenges you faced? Were there any key obstacles in the process?

Daniel: One of the key obstacles was the concerns around the use of cryptocurrencies for illicit purposes and the regulations within this space. Thanks to the work of FCSS, Compliance and the deep knowledge of Chee Kin, we were able to come up with processes to mitigate those risks. For example, with the use of on-chain surveillance we could identify if the coins came from wallets that were used to interact with the Dark Web, or if the wallets have been sanctioned etc.

How did you keep the team focused on innovating ambitiously?

Daniel: I think the many brainstorming sessions we had helped resolve specific challenges and it kept challenging everyone to think out of the box. The beer taps at DBS Asia X also helped! 😊

How does it feel to have brought your ideas to life?

Daniel: On the day when Piyush made the announcement on the launch of the exchange, I felt the same way when my son was born!

We’re celebrating the Global and APAC Most Innovative in Digital Banking awards from The Banker, and DDEx is obviously a big reason why. Any words you’d like to share with the rest of your team and the Bank?

Daniel: To always think out of the box and keep the creative juice flowing!