MYbank launches AI-enabled system for SME money management

By Gloria Mathias

MYbank, a digital bank in China and an associate of Ant Group, has introduced its AI-enabled system (Cuckoo System) for small and micro-sized enterprise (SME) money management at the 2024 INCLUSION Conference on the Bund.

The system forecasts the cash flow of SMEs across various industries, assisting bank-affiliated investment management companies in more effectively anticipating the timing of SMEs’ subscriptions and redemptions of investment products and helping SMEs generate reasonable returns from their idle cash. By aligning financial offerings with SMEs’ operational cycles, the system helps maximise efficiency in their financial management.

Feng Liang, president of MYbank, highlighted the liquidity management challenges faced by SMEs. While SMEs may not prioritise high returns, they require investment products that offer a high level of capital security, align with their variable cash flow cycles, and provide stable returns.

“As of the end of 2023, MYbank has served over 53 million SMEs cumulatively. MYbank aims to leverage its deep understanding of SMEs’ needs and cash flow, along with AI technology and the convenience of digital banking, to create an advanced money management experience for SMEs and support the growth of the real economy,” said Liang.

Powered by Ant Group’s BaiLing foundation model, the system utilises a time-series encoder to create highly accurate cash flow prediction models for SMEs across various sectors, including eCommerce, retail, and agriculture, achieving an accuracy rate of over 95%. Building on these cash flow predictions, the system also models the likelihood of future investment product purchases and redemptions. These timely insights enable bank-affiliated investment management companies to optimise fund utilisation and improve asset allocation efficiency by 10%, thereby enhancing overall product returns.

As of September 2024, MYbank has established partnerships with 23 bank-affiliated investment management companies, 5 of which have closely adopted the system to optimise 7 SME-focused investment management products.

In addition to advanced risk-management solutions, MYbank has harnessed technologies such as AI and remote sensing to streamline credit services for farmers. This approach eliminates the need for lengthy processes or paper documentation, making digital loans more accessible to them.