The State of ASEAN Banking CX 2026 will be unveiled at the inaugural Twimbit Banking Summit & Awards in Kuala Lumpur on 27 October, alongside 34 awards across six markets ‍

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 October 2026: As banks across ASEAN offer increasingly similar digital products and race to adopt AI, customer experience is becoming the main way they set themselves apart. Twimbit will put that to the test at the inaugural Twimbit Banking Summit & Awards on Tuesday, 27 October, at the Four Seasons Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, where it will unveil The State of ASEAN Banking CX 2026, a benchmark of customer experience at 44 banks across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Most banks in the region now offer the same essentials: a mobile app, instant transfers and digital account opening. The study asks what sets the leaders apart once those basics are in place: how easily customers get help when something goes wrong, whether AI makes banking feel simpler rather than more distant, and whether banks are earning the trust that keeps customers loyal.

To answer that, Twimbit's analysts went through the same journeys a customer would, as mystery shoppers. They opened digital savings accounts, made money transfers and tested each bank's app. They combined this with publicly available data, including annual reports, customer reviews and employee reviews. Each bank was assessed across four pillars: digital experience, service experience, brand experience and employee experience. This is the first edition of the benchmark, which Twimbit will run every year.

"ASEAN's banks have largely closed the digital gap. Almost every bank now has a capable app and a fast way to open an account, so technology on its own no longer sets anyone apart," said Shivanu Shukla, Senior Vice President, Twimbit. "What will decide the next decade of banking in this region is experience: whether customers feel understood, supported and confident in their bank. As AI takes on more of how banks serve people, the banks that use it to make banking feel more human, not less, are the ones customers will stay with."

The benchmark also forms the basis of the Twimbit Banking Awards, which will recognise the leading banks in each market across six categories: Best Banking Experience, Best App Experience, Best Onboarding Experience, Best AI Experience, Most Inclusive Bank and Best Digital Bank. Winners of the 34 awards will be announced at the summit.

The summit, held by invitation, brings together senior leaders from banks, regulators and technology firms across the region. Manoj Menon, Founder and CEO of Twimbit, will open the day, and Shivanu Shukla will then present the report's findings. Twimbit's leadership will also moderate each of the day's three panels.

The panel 'The Agentic Bank: Redefining How Banks Operate, Serve and Compete' will look at how AI agents are changing banking operations and service, with Alvin Eng of UOB, Ajmal Khan Adam Ashraf of RHB Banking Group, Zulkanain Kassim of Bank Rakyat Malaysia, Lucose Eralil, formerly of Security Bank Corporation, and Mao Gen Foo of Genesys, moderated by Manoj Menon. Cyrus Daruwala, Partner at 3A Ventures Asia and Chairman of the Asia Pacific Financial Services Congress, will deliver a keynote on 'The Autonomous Intelligence Era: An Agent-Driven ASEAN'.

The panel 'The CX Dividend: Why Experience Is Becoming Banking's Last Differentiator' brings together Irene Lew Chai Ling of OCBC Bank, Mila Bedrenets of Tonik, Manpreet Tejvir Singh of CIMB Bank, Firdila Sari of Bank Mega and Tiew Chee Leong of NTT DATA, moderated by Shivanu Shukla.

Keynotes from Sigit Prihatmoko of Bank Negara Indonesia, on 'Banking at the Crossroads: Shaping the Future of ASEAN Banking', and Irwin Mohd Eusoff of Affin Group, on 'The Future of Banking in ASEAN', will look at the wider forces shaping the region's banks.

The panel 'Trust as a Competitive Advantage: Building the Bank Customers Believe In' will discuss AI governance and customer confidence, with Atty. Romina Angeliz H. Marcaida of UnionBank of the Philippines, Dhanik Patel of GXBank, Kalyan Mukhopadhyay of Kyndryl and Skunpoj Thanarojsophon, PhD, of the Bank of Thailand, moderated by Varnika Goel, Co-Founder and Research Director, Twimbit.

The Twimbit Banking Summit & Awards 2026 is supported by Platinum Sponsor Genesys, Gold Sponsor NTT DATA, Silver Sponsor Capgemini and Bronze Sponsor Consilium Software.