New York-based finance magazine Global Finance has awarded DBS the "World's Best Bank" accolade in 2018 for its digital innovation efforts.

Global Finance first started the World's Best Bank award in 2017.

The inaugural recipient of the award in 2017 was European bank ING.

Global Finance selects the winner based on past year performance, reputation, and management excellence.

In an interview with The Straits Times, DBS's chief executive officer, Piyush Gupta, said that the award is a recognition of the bank's ongoing digital transformation efforts, which includes bringing more technological functions in-house and into the cloud.

According to Piyush, 2017 was a "breakthrough year" for the bank as they managed to bring 85 percent of their operations in-house, imperative for the company to "own" the technology and innovate.

Digital innovation

DBS has always been at the forefront of digital innovation.

In 1997, it was the first regional bank to launch a suite of online banking functions known as iBanking.

In 2014, DBS debuted its mobile wallet app PayLah! and followed up with its rebranded internet banking and mobile app digibank in 2016.

In the same year, DBS was named Best Digital Bank by Euromoney.

It clinched the award again in 2018.

DBS's latest digital initiative is POSB Smart Buddy, a savings and payment programme for children using bank-issued smartwatches.

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These smartwatches can be used for payments and for parents to track their children's spending.

Earlier in May 2018, Global Finance also named DBS as the best regional bank in Asia Pacific.

Top image via Asianinvestor.net