Asia’s unbanked population is still huge at more than 1 billion people, according to a World Bank report in 2018, making the region a high-growth market for financial technology companies.
It doesn’t, therefore, come as a surprise that a growing number of people in the region are now turning to technology to meet their financial services needs
A recent survey conducted by Robocash Group showed that a growing number of Asians are now turning to e-payments and digital wallets to make transactions.
The survey showed that almost two-thirds of the respondents applied for online credit and made e-payments last year. The poll covered India, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
On average, 61 percent of respondents applied for online credit at least once in the past year. The lowest usage was in the Philippines – 57 percent. Indonesia had 61 percent, while India and Vietnam – 63 percent and 64 percent, respectively.
E-payments and digital wallets have become an integral part of life for Asians. The strong majority of respondents (67 percent) used them at least once in 2019. More than half of that number (56 percent) made digital payments more than twice a week.
In terms of regular monthly usage, respondents from Vietnam were most active in 2019 (63 percent), followed by India (51 percent), Indonesia (49 percent) and the Philippines (42 percent).
Digital savings and investments demonstrated the lowest penetration – both at 8 percent on average.
“The reason why the segment is lagging is in the fact that such services suggest serving customers earning higher incomes and saving money. At the same time, improvements in financial inclusion and financial literacy promise to advance the industry soon,” Robocash said.
In general, an urgent, unexpected need remains to be the main reason to apply for fintech financing. Most often, Asians used relevant services in 2019 only once or twice for the whole year.
India had the highest share of such customers – 31 percent. The Philippines and Vietnam followed with 28 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Indonesia had 24 percent.
Remarkably, Robocash Group said only one in ten respondents used online credit almost monthly, i.e. more than 10 times a year. – BusinessNewsAsia.com