The two central banks aim to promote the use of innovation and technology to reduce costs and improve efficiency of financial products and services.
Alipay is the world’s largest mobile and online payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group, with over 900 million members.
in 2017, Asia saw 319 million new mobile connections, compared with just 5 million new mobile connections in Europe over the same time period.
Thailand is particularly susceptible to fintech thanks to a gap in connectivity between urban and rural areas, where fintechs can jump in to disrupt existing processes
Not only does fintech hold massive potential for Asian businesses – those who do not get on board soon will be left behind, warns Lawrence Yeo.
An important factor is that of Southeast Asia’s huge population, many are “unbanked” - meaning they lack access to traditional banks and services.
Although bank penetration in Vietnam is consistently growing, it still trails other Southeast Asian nations with only 59 % banked citizens only in 2017
China is quickly adopting financial technology, as both consumers and businesses are drawn to a slew of handy and efficient services
