On June 18–19, 2025, FOURDIGIT COO Takehiro Suenari participated as a speaker at the international conference “NIKKEI FORUM MEDINI, JOHOR 2025” held in Johor, Malaysia.
The forum was co-hosted by Nikkei Inc., Nikkei BP, and Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB)—a holding company promoting strategic investments in the Iskandar Malaysia special economic zone. With the aim of building strategic partnerships, creating investment opportunities across Asia, and fostering sustainable regional economic growth, the event featured wide-ranging discussions on key topics such as digital transformation (DX), sustainable development, and emerging technologies.
For FOURDIGIT, a company that has long supported corporate DX and new value creation through human-centered service design, this was a valuable opportunity to accelerate business expansion in Asia and to share how design can contribute to solving local challenges.
The forum was graced by the presence of both the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Chief Minister of Johor. Building on years of development in the Iskandar Malaysia region, Johor is now advancing national strategies such as the newly launched Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) to deepen economic ties with Singapore and promote the region as a business hub. The event welcomed over 650 participants, including business leaders, policymakers, and experts from across the globe.
The Potential of Digital Finance in Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, smartphone adoption is accelerating rapidly, with a penetration rate of 121%—meaning many individuals own more than one device. Yet, a large segment of the population remains unbanked, without access to traditional financial services.
In this context, digital payments are drawing attention as a key means of expanding access to finance. For example, the ASEAN region is progressing toward standardized QR code payments, enabling cross-border transactions. Even individuals or small businesses that previously relied on cash can now easily adopt cashless payment solutions.
These tools are not just convenient—they’re transforming lives. Whether it’s housewives selling goods in local Malaysian markets or small businesses supported by our microfinance partners, digital payments are unlocking new business opportunities and promoting financial inclusion.
Bringing Comfort to Financial Services
During the forum, FOURDIGIT COO Takehiro Suenari participated in a session titled “The New Epicenter of Digital Finance.” The session was moderated by Professor Akie Iriyama of Waseda Business School, and featured a distinguished panel including Shinichiro Nishikawa of NTT DATA Payment Services, D. Vijaybaskar of Tata Consultancy Services, and Azleena Idris of PayNet Malaysia. Together, they exchanged views on the evolving landscape of financial services and discussed the future of user experience in the financial sector.
Suenari:
“FOURDIGIT is a design company with a focus on Asia, operating in Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
What makes us different is our focus not only on visual design, but on crafting the entire user experience. We think deeply about the context and timing in which services like apps or payments are used—and how they can feel intuitive and comfortable.
We conduct local research on user behaviors and cultural nuances, then translate these insights into service experiences. We believe that by doing so, we help make financial services easier and more accessible for everyone.
While we’ve worked on many projects with banks and credit card companies in Japan, we’re also expanding into areas like cross-border payments. What matters to us is always the human perspective: how a service is used and how it’s delivered.”
Solving Local Challenges Through Design
FOURDIGIT also sees design as a tool to address social challenges. One example is our investment in the Malaysian microfinance startup Bee Informatica.
Suenari:
“People often ask, ‘Why would a design company invest in a financial startup?’
Bee Informatica provides loan services to small-scale businesses that traditional financial institutions have struggled to support. We resonated with their mission and chose to go beyond investment—we’re actively involved in growing the service together.
Our role is to help make the service more trustworthy and user-friendly, applying our design expertise to improve usability and build confidence among users.”
About Bee Informatica:
Bee Informatica
FOURDIGIT Project Examples:
・UI/UX design as a gateway to the digital shift
・A new credit card experience that is both “safe” and “advanced”
Designing the Future of Asia, Together
Throughout the forum, participants—including platform operators, service providers, financial institutions, and consumers—engaged in vibrant discussions about the evolution and collaboration of financial services in the Asia-Pacific region.
In particular, our session highlighted the growing recognition of UI/UX as essential touchpoints between financial services and consumers. As services become more complex, the challenge is to transform them into intuitive, stress-free experiences—a mission that aligns directly with FOURDIGIT’s long-standing commitment to human-centered service design.
As digitalization deepens, the role of design at every user touchpoint becomes even more critical. At FOURDIGIT, we’ll continue working alongside diverse partners to merge technology and design and to create experiences that are easy, inclusive, and empowering for all.
