A new study
by UnaFinancial reveals that mobile fintech app adoption in Southeast Asia is
on track to reach 60% by 2030, up from 49% in 2024. The research highlights
significant growth in the region’s digital financial services sector, with some
countries poised for particularly high penetration rates.

Southeast Asian Fintech
App Adoption Set to Surge by 2030

The study,
which analyzed data from over 8,700 apps across six Southeast Asian nations,
found that the Philippines currently leads the region with a 63% adoption rate.
This is expected to climb to 72% by 2030, maintaining the country’s top
position.

“The
leadership of the Philippines is due to several factors, including the large
share of the unbanked population, efforts of regulators to develop digital
financial technologies, a large proportion of young and tech-savvy population
and a growing level of mobile and Internet penetration,” explained a
UnaFinancial analyst.

Indonesia
has shown the most visible growth, with fintech app usage surging from 9% in
2019 to 49% in 2024. The country is projected to reach 64% adoption by 2030,
securing the second spot in the region.

“The
level of mobile fintech app adoption increased from 9% in 2019 to 49% in 2024.
Similar to the Philippines, Indonesia is actively developing fintech, supported
by government efforts and a large share of the unbanked population,” UnaFinancial
added.

Other
countries in the study include Malaysia, currently at 55% adoption and expected
to reach 61% by 2030, Thailand (45% to 50%), Singapore (45% to 48%), and
Vietnam (32% to 41%).

The
development of the local fintech industry is also evidenced by the fact that
Revolut recently expanded its B2B operations in Southeast Asia, providing
multi-currency accounts, debit cards, and access to over 150 currencies.

The
research also broke down adoption rates by fintech segments. Digital wallets
and payment apps lead with 35% penetration, followed by mobile banking at 18%.
Lending apps have shown significant growth, increasing from 1% in 2019 to 5% in
2024.

Investing
and cryptocurrency trading apps lag behind at 2% each, which analysts attribute
to reduced investment activity amid global economic uncertainty.

The study’s
findings underscore the rapid digitalization of financial services in Southeast
Asia, a trend that appears set to continue through the end of the decade. As
these technologies become more prevalent, they have the potential to reshape
the region’s financial landscape and improve access to services for millions of
consumers.

UnaFinancial
is one of the companies operating in the payments and fintech industry itself.
At the end of July, it presented results for the first half of 2024, during
which it earned $4.7 million, increasing its net profit by 18%.

Fintech in ASEAN

Within the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Singapore maintained a leading
position in 2023 by securing $747 million in FinTech funding, representing 59%
of the total funding in this region. Despite a significant drop of over 65%
compared to the previous year, Singapore still managed to secure 51 deals, the
most in the region, spanning eight different FinTech categories, which was the
broadest range observed locally.

Digital Banking is one of the most competitive fintech sectors in SEA, according to Robocash Group.“The future of the financial services market in SEA will undoubtedly be strongly influenced by digital banking”.Read more: https://t.co/GRF2HuGbuo#fintech #future #digitalbank

— UnaFinancial (@UnaFinancial) June 16, 2023

However,
Singapore and other ASEAN-based FinTech companies continue to experience a
global downturn in funding. In the first nine months of 2023, fintech
investments across the six largest ASEAN economies totaled US$1.3 billion,
marking a drastic 70% reduction from the same period in 2022.

Last month,
MUFG and the Finnoventure Private Equity Trust fund collectively invested $195
million in Ascend Money, a fintech unicorn based in Thailand. Ascend Money, a
subsidiary of the Charoen Pokphand Group, has extensive operations across seven
Southeast Asian countries.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

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