Successful Story on Fintech in Asia

Narendra Kumar

07 Dec, 2020

Fintech is a success story in Asia retaining 40% of all capital invested in the financial sector globally.6 out of 7 of the largest Fintech companies lay from Asia

The outlook of Fintech Companies in Asia?

Fintech basically originates from the combination of finance and technology which methodology is mainly adopted by the startups to give a new shape to the finance industry

The explosive growth in the Fintech is providing comparative benefits as compared to the traditional financial system which includes low costs, lower and few commission rates, access from anywhere, anytime around the world. The only thing that is required to carry on the business is a proper internet connection. There are millions of users who use mobile technology. According to Accenture, young people are twice more likely than their elders to switch to a bank without physical branches or resort to technology companies offering banking services.

On the other hand, the financial industry recognized the need to incorporate innovation into its business processes and product and its strategy to attract and retain the customers. Thus Fintech accelerates creativity and idea for the expansion of many small firms that are changing the face of financial services routed through technology

Fintech is a success story in Asia retaining 40% of all capital invested in the financial sector globally.6 out of 7 of the largest Fintech companies lay from Asia. The biggest Asian hubs which include Singapore, India, and China are becoming the centres of global Fintech innovation and adoption.

Fintech Landscape in Asia

• Asian success story of 2016. This region attracted the largest scale of global investment which estimated at around 44%
• China was the largest investment making country with c$10bn, with a number of single investments over a $1bn.The financial services industry is moving towards Fintech models at a scale outperforming Western markets.
• India, with an investment of $1bn in 2016 is at an earlier stage in the cycle of investment.
• The rest of Asia, including the financial centres of Hong Kong and Singapore, are developing fintech ecosystems and business models.

• Overview of growth countrywide:

• China

  • It is the largest Fintech ecosystem in Asia which estimated $10bn investment in 2016
  • China’s mobile payment volume is the largest in the world which transacted with an estimate of $5.39 trillion in 2016
  • Tencent owns China’s largest social media site such as Wechat/Wexinn which also includes payment gateways as Wexinn Pay and Tenpay which processed around 600 million transactions on daily basis.
  • Chinese ambition through Fintech is not restricted to mainland China, Ant/Alipay is expanding internationally which has invested around 600 million in One 97 PayTM India.
  • Thus Chinese Fintech has greater scope than western Fintech in terms of processing volumes, opportunities in building up a global presence which is to be reckoned with.

• India

  • In 2016 India has made $1.1 billion Fintech investment, loans $463m, payments $386m, and Banks $189m, notable investments, Citrus Pay $130m, Equitas $100m, MobiKwik $90m.
  • The FinTech market was captivated by the India Government by demonetization to remove large denomination notes and by the granting of 11 Payment bank the largest single investment has been in One97 Communications PayTM circa $1billion, 88 million wallets it has been preparing the launch of a RupayCard (Indian equivalent VISA/ MasterCard) with an aim to issue 100 million cards.
  • Vizag, Andhra Pradesh is building a Fintech Hub Lattice80, a Singaporean Incubator supported by Marvelstone Group is opening its first overseas base that following on from a cooperation agreement signed with the Monetary Authority of
  • Technical infrastructure in India has supported Fintech by introducing excellent bank clearing systems, a global leading identity scheme such as Aadhaar Card which is one of the largest software developer communities in the world and a number of world-class IT companies such as Tata and Infosys. India has the human capital, entrepreneurs, State, National government policy development and the infrastructure amongst its banking and computing industries to achieve a high level of Fintech.

• Singapore & Hong Kong:

  • Singapore and Hong Kong sail together for the position of being the Asia’s major Fintech hub outside of India and China.
  • Total Fintech Investment in both these centres approached to around c$800 million
  • In 2016 Hong Kong’s investment is ahead of Singapore which shows that lending being largest in Hong Kong and payments in Singapore.
  • Both the countries have good government support along with flexible Fintech regulatory approach that helps to link the global regulatory bodies with the number of Fintech
  • Singapore and Hong Kong will continue to be strong fintech hub contenders as the digital transformation of financial markets and financial services continue.

Conclusion

• Asia has become one of the world’s largest Fintech companies. China is most developed and is internationalizing, its home market still has immense potential.
• India is at an earlier stage of Fintech development, has the technologies, human capital and Government policy interventions to transform its financial services industry.
• The other countries in the region are starting to develop with a population base offers many opportunities. In many aspects, Asia is the leader of global FinTech development and its fintech ecosystem can only get stronger.