Story of a sister who donated kidney to her brother

This story is not just that of a sister donating a kidney to her brother. It is also the background of a concept called Post Traumatic Growth I have come to understand only recently, after I heard Sheryl Sandberg talk about it at our Lean In Singapore event in November.

It was actually quite bizarre that when our surgery was taking place, the Raksha Bandhan festival celebrations were in full swing throughout the country. Raksha Bandhan, to those not familiar, is a festival in India that celebrates the bond between brother and sister. Traditionally the sister ties a “Raakhi” (a symbolic thread) on the brother’s wrist and the brother reaffirms that he will protect the sister at all times. Ofcourse with strong values rooted in gender equality, when I used to celebrate it with my children - a girl and a boy - they tied the Raakhi to each other!

We were contacted by the hospital soon after the surgery that a newspaper wanted to cover our story as a special Raksha Bandhan feature. I couldn’t do it immediately then, but had written this up more than a year ago, when they reached out to me again. When my brother shared this link on our family Whatsapp group this morning, I was surprised to see it was our story. Brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye to note they had published it on my late father’s birthday (21st Jan).

In the past year as I've interacted with people from so many diverse industries and backgrounds, people have asked me about the inspiration behind my work with Lean In Singapore and Lean In Fintech SG and Asia, and the importance I lay on a collaborative and supportive approach at work. They ask me if it was trauma and stress in life that propels me. That's where I have found the concept of Post Traumatic Growth to be so powerful. I got to understand this more deeply after I followed up on Sheryl Sandberg's visit and read her and Adam Grant's book "Option B". We are all familiar with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But Post Traumatic Growth explains the phenomenon as "people becoming stronger and creating a more meaningful life in the wake of staggering tragedy or trauma. They don't just bounce back, they bounce higher than they ever did before."

I met a young lady who is dealing with her recent diagnosis of a health disorder. Another who has grappled with harassment at work and is already emerging so strongly from it. Another lost her young child to cancer. As they gain support from those around them and build up their reserves to deal with their personal trauma, I wish them all the strength, energy and support to deal with it and to allow themselves to emerge from the depths. Not just back to where they were (often that's not even possible), but possibly even stronger and higher than that.

Story of a sister who donated kidney to her brother - www.narmadakidney.org/raksha-bandhan 

In early 2016, we found out from the doctors that my brother would need to undergo kidney transplant by the end of the year or by early next year. I made a short trip to India in March to get myself evaluated as a kidney donor. The preliminary tests were encouraging and when I returned to work in Singapore I informed my seniors and HR that I would be taking time off for a while around December.

I however underwent a severe setback at work that necessitated me to take a sabbatical in June and focus on recovering my strength. When I made a holiday trip to India in July, my brother got his monthly tests done and the doctors told us that he would need to undergo the transplant ASAP. We both then rushed to get the final sets of tests done and as we got prepped for the surgery, an unseen challenge came up in the form of the kidney donation scandal that broke at another hospital in Mumbai, one that would pose problems in the near future. Our medical case did get the ethical committee approval and we and the medical team set ourselves the date of 11th August for the surgery. My brother and I got ourselves admitted to Global Hospital on 9th August – he as Recipient Patient, I as Donor Patient. On 10th August, we heard about the medical strike being called by the doctors as fallout of the kidney donation scandal and the treatment meted out to the surgeons, not knowing then if our surgery would be taken up – until, thankfully, a confirmation came in that night that we were on schedule for our surgery.

This was the first time I underwent a surgery, but all through, from the preparation stage over the past few months until the time that we were getting wheeled into the operating theatre, I did not feel fearful. I only felt right about my decision. I felt right that I could be there for my brother in this manner. When my brother’s ADPKD condition was detected, we found out that it was a genetic condition. By some stroke of chance, my brother had it. While I considered myself fortunate to not have inherited the condition, I also felt it only right that I should share my luck. I had two kidneys, and I can live – and live well in with one of them. That is how I had reached my decision to donate. And fortunately, my husband, my mother in law and my children, all supported me fully.

On the morning of 11th August, with Raksha Bandhan coming up in a few days, the surgery began – first the nephrectomy on him, followed by nephrectomy on me, and the transplant procedure. When we were both recovering in the RICU, the staff would come to check on me and administer the medication. And they also sweetly kept me updated on my brother’s condition – how he was doing post-surgery. How his new kidney had started functioning. How his creatinine levels were falling. With every update, and later as the days of recovery showed positive progress, I was only thankful that my brother’s health was getting back on track.

My brother is now continuing well on his recovery path at home. I too am back home and recovering well. When I look back, I can only wonder at how everything fell in place. My taking a break from work was brought about by severe setbacks then, both emotionally and physically. But my break from work and my being in Mumbai in July had allowed us to expedite all the preparations required for the surgery, which until then we had expected only by the end of the year. Most importantly, it also meant that I had been able to recover my strength and energies and be fit to undergo the surgery. Unforeseen factors in the form of a medical strike had come up but that too was resolved in the timeliest manner.

There are so many things that we have to be thankful for. And I am thankful for everything I have. And thankful that I was able to be there for my brother.

Here’s wishing us all the best of health!

Why I'm glad #OpenBanking can help banks to be more like Citymapper

As an avid user of the Citymapper app, I click on “Get Me Somewhere” and it beautifully aggregates for me transit, transport and navigation information and provides it all to me in a single interface. I am oblivious to the fact that it has had to combine APIs from the MRT train and bus companies or other aggregators like Uber, together with weather services.  After having tried multiple different transit and location tracking apps, I love that I get all the travel and routing information served to me in a single place here (also ofcourse that it tracks my location and helps me get off at the right bus stop).

Let’s face it. For all the hesitation there may be among users and banks to embrace open banking and interoperable technologies, we are / will be dealing with an increasingly evolved user base with:

1. Users who have a need (This is what I want to do); and we seek a solution (What’s the most optimal - fastest / most economical / most convenient - way to do it).
2. Users who want end-to-end: We want information, but we also want to know what to do with the information and be able to act upon it. (Therefore I don't want to only see the best route across multiple options, I also want to be able to book my Uber directly through it).

Trying to provide a consolidated banking experience is not entirely new. Banks and Fintechs have been working on Account Aggregation - some of the early banking products that I worked on were BAI, SWIFT MT 940 series compliant. Others have resorted to work-around solutions to access client data via screen scraping to access bank account information on behalf of a customer. They all attempt to provide corporate or retail customers a single view across their banking or financial relationships. But resistance from banks to share with other banks for fear of cannibalizing their own business, reluctance from users to provide access to their data, and data security concerns have been authentic, but they have not allowed these solutions to become more mainstream.

Regulatory-led initiatives such as UK’s PSD2 & Open Banking, or IndiaStack are great examples of the emergence of interoperable ecosystems between banks, Fintechs, government, commercial establishments and end-users.

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Users are already searching for the most optimal (fastest / most economical / most convenient) ways  to “Get Them Somewhere / Something”. For Banks and Fintechs to thrive (not just survive) in this ecosystem it will mean putting the end-user upfront and center.

Making the AI in “financial” contextual. And relevant.

Banks incorporating chatbots into their customer service is only scratching the surface. For end-users, the “banking experience” is longer restricted to the bank - be it branch, website, app, kiosk or chatbot. Rather it is about making the “financial” contextual and relevant within the mainstream of how we conduct our various activities.  How smooth can the experience be for end-users if with the increased intelligence and tech we can better:

Listen and respond - You asked for this info, here is the information you need. Or here are the options for you to consider. (This is pretty much where most banks and FI are today.)

Understand and suggest - I understand you’re contemplating between all these different options. Given your history of commercial transactions, your likes and preferences, and your financials, here’s what I’d suggest would suit you better. By the way, others with similar profiles as your’s have done this.

Monitor  and prescribe - If you buy this, you won’t have enough to go through the rest of the month. Or pay the rent. Or buy that expensive item you’ve budgeted for. You’re better off NOT buying this now, let’s plan for this purchase at a later time.

Provide locational and contextual recommendation - Now that you’re here, you might want to take a look at this as it's just what you were looking for. Or if you go just a bit further, you may like this better because it’s more exclusive. ...Or it’s cheaper. Or hold on a bit, they usually have a sale this season, so hold on for now and come back in a week.

Track and maintain...and execute - I’ll make your life easier by taking over all or most of your tedious tasks of tracking your expenses, bills, fees, tax, etc. Also when I remind you your tax is due, or credit card is due, making the payment is just a click away.

Consult and inspire - I’m available when you want to brainstorm. Or I’m going to drop in once in a while and leave behind an inspiring thought or idea for you think over as you consider investment options, making a huge career move, etc.

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Even as we develop the ability for computers and machines to think and respond like humans, it doesn't have to be human. We've started with (chat)bots, users are better off  knowing when it’s a human they are interacting with, and when it’s a (chat)bot. If they are provided with this information beforehand, they’ll be better prepared to navigate the interaction and manage expectation.

And no, we don’t need to feel compelled to make banking chatbots overly friendly and chatty. If I want to know my account balance, I only want that information, I don’t want to chat.

The true power for banks and Fintechs is in tapping the potential within AI and its various sub-fields of Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning in a more intuitive manner, and figure ways in which it can make end-users' lives better.

Why my 17 yr. old son thinks cashless payments will be bad for him

My son, who is applying for university: Mum, you speak of digital and cashless payments, but I think cash is actually very useful. I’ll be away from home, and I want to make sure I do not overspend. I can load up my wallet with a fixed amount per week or month, and make sure I spend only within that.

Cash is tangible. I can go count it any time and I will have better control over my spend. If I’m making a mobile payment, it becomes too easy to pay. If the payment is backed by a credit card, won’t it make me less conscious of the money I’m spending?

How can we ensure digital payments not only make it easier to pay, but also help my son and his generation manage their finances?

Google's smart decision on branding GooglePay

Google consolidates its payment products, Android Pay and Google Wallet, into a single new brand - Google Pay. It's a smart decision when companies decide to simplify how it presents their solutions to consumers, in an already crowded and fragmented market https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/08/google-pay/?ncid=rss

EY Fintech Adoption Index 2017

An interesting look by EY at the consumer adoption across different Fintech services, and in different countries.

Some salient points:

• Money transfer and payments* tops the list with 50% of consumers using Fintech money transfer and payments services, followed by Insurance at 24%, Savings and investments at 20%, Financial planning at 10%.
• Top 5 countries feature China which tops the list with 69% adoption, India at 52%, UK at 42%,  Brazil at 40%, Australia at 37%.
• China, India and emerging markets' high adoption a mark of FinTech firms exceling at tapping into the tech-literate, but financially underserved population, of which there are particularly high ratios in emerging countries.
• Singapore is at 23% adoption, below the average of 33%. The average itself has gone up from 16% in 2015. 

Note: The survey sample size is quite small at 22,000 digitally active consumers who have used each product but  it does cover 20 mature and developing markets. 

* includes a large array of services - Online foreign exchange, Pay via cryptocurrency, Overseas remittances, Online digital-only banks without branches, Non-banks to transfer money, Mobile phone payment at checkout

For the detailed report you need to download the PDF.

#Fintech #FintechAdoption #Payments #MobilePayments

Challenges SMEs in Singapore face in going cashless

With $2 billion as costs incurred by Singapore to manage its cash and cheque-based payments, cashless is the way to go. However interoperability and merchant fees are among key areas that need to be addressed for Singapore's cashless drive.

Even DBS' PayLah though free, won't work for merchants in its current form as it is primarily a P2P payment mode where transactions go through personal account rather than corporate account.

Check this article on the challenges SMEs in Singapore face in going cashless: http://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/challenges-smes-face-in-going-cashless