Keeping you on the pulse of Asia

Asia’s fintech landscape is evolving rapidly, driving financial innovation and reshaping the way consumers interact with financial services. With the growth of digital adoption, a vast unbanked population, and the region’s strong push toward technological advancement, fintech in Asia is brimming with potential. Here are the six key trends shaping the future of fintech in Asia, each offering insights into the direction the industry is headed and the opportunities it presents.

Asia's fintech landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, with key trends emerging across banking, payments, digital lending, and specialised verticals like InsurTech, RegTech, and WealthTech.

Explore the evolving needs and aspirations of Asia's fintech organisations in relation to current industry trends through in-depth interview data from over 50 key stakeholders from across Asia, including banks, fintech companies, consultants, and industry experts.

Southeast Asia has emerged as a goldmine for fintechs looking to expand and tap into new markets. With rapid digital adoption, a burgeoning middle class, and increasing smartphone penetration, the region has become a fertile ground for innovation and financial disruption. And if you’re looking to capitalize on these opportunities, Money20/20 Asia is your launchpad.

An Acrew Capital and Money20/20 Report

The wave of technological advancement unleashed by AI is redefining the financial playbook—globally. Yet, the story of adoption isn't uniform. Some markets are sprinting ahead, while others make calculated moves. In Asia, this dynamic takes on particular significance. Our analysis of publicly announced initiatives reveals a region that isn't just participating in this revolution—it's increasingly setting the pace.

When selecting a host city for Money20/20 Asia, Bangkok's credentials stood out. Thailand's digital economy ranks second in Southeast Asia, with projections reaching $50 billion by 2025 according to e-Conomy SEA, Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. This economic strength builds on the country's comprehensive approach to financial innovation, including six new projects under its national AI strategy.

Financial regulators from several Asian countries convened at Money20/20 Asia for a closed-door roundtable discussion. The closed-door meeting, held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, focused on exchanging perspectives and fostering responsible growth through collaboration on key initiatives in open infrastructure, payments, and innovation.

Money20/20 Asia's Content Lead, Namita Kinjawadekar, speaks with Dwaipayan Sadhu, CEO of TrustBank, Singapore's first digital bank.

Dwai details the bank's rapid growth, innovative strategies, and the importance of customer experience. He discusses the challenges faced in the banking industry, the significance of technology and innovation, and the strong cultural values that drive Trust Bank's success. Dwai also offers valuable leadership advice and emphasizes the importance of putting people first in the banking sector.

Danny engages in a conversation with Tomas Skoumal, Co-founder and Chairman of Dyna.Ai, a Singapore-based AI technology service company. Drawing from his 24-year experience in retail banking, including his former role as Global Head of Loans at Standard Chartered Bank, Skoumal discusses the current AI landscape in financial services.

The discussion explores compelling AI use cases, strategies for making AI solutions user-friendly, and specific challenges within banking and financial services. The conversation also delves into the future of fintech, examining how AI will augment human capabilities and drive innovation, as well as its broader role in digital transformation.

Unlock the future of financial transactions as we sit down with Manoj Dugar from HSBC at the pulsing heart of Money 2020 in Bangkok. This episode promises a deep dive into the seismic shifts occurring within real estate payments as we navigate Singapore's bold moves to establish itself as a trailblazer in smart city development. You'll discover how the scrapping of corporate checks is just the beginning and the crucial role blockchain technology is playing in reshaping how we think about security and efficiency in property transactions.

Danny talks to Tessa Wijaya, the COO at Indonesian fintech Xendit, the expanding payments gateway. On top of being a driving force for the company’s growth, Tessa is also a passionate advocate for more women in tech; she initiated Xendit’s Women in Tech Indonesia program, where entrepreneurs and tech professionals share experiences in workshops and digital forums.

Embark on a financial odyssey with Sachin Sharma from audax, uncovering the game-changing realm of Banking as a Service (BaaS). Grasping the keys to this kingdom isn't just for the tech-saavy, it's for anyone who's ever made a digital purchase or pondered the future of banking. From audax's inception in the competitive incubator of Standard Chartered Ventures, Sachin breaks down how BaaS is weaving into the fabric of our daily online activities.

LIVE from The MoneyPot Booth at Money20/20 Asia 2024.

Step into the dynamic world of Asian fintech, where diversity reigns and innovation is the currency of progress. Guided by the insights of Zennon Kapron from Kapronasia, we unravel the tapestry of financial development that stretches from the bustling business hubs of Singapore to the fast-growing economies of Thailand and the Philippines.

Ever wondered what it takes to jump ship from the safety of corporate giants to the stormy seas of fintech entrepreneurship? Our latest episode brings you face-to-face with Caecilia Chu, YouTrip's co-founder and CEO, whose audacious switch from the world of Citi and McKinsey is nothing short of a high-stakes adventure. Her tale isn't just one of business acumen; it's a deeply personal narrative woven with threads of family legacy, cultural nuances, and a relentless pursuit of solving real-world problems. Caecilia opens up about the profound impact of her parents' entrepreneurial journey, the resilience it instilled in her, and the unique pressures that accompany a background ripe with 'tiger parenting.'

Embark on a transformative journey with Lyn Kok as we navigate the thrilling waters of career change and the creation of something truly impactful. Lyn, the visionary behind Mula X, shares her profound experience transitioning from the president and CEO of a major bank to the innovative world of financial inclusion through fintech entrepreneurship. Her story is a beacon for anyone seeking to align their career with their core values, revealing the challenges and triumphs of constructing a mission-driven company from the ground up.

When Hena Mehta decided to swap the dizzying heights of Wall Street for the bustling tech scene in Bangalore, she wasn't merely changing jobs—she was rewriting her life story. As founder of BASIS, the financial app changing the game for urban Indian women, she joins us to share the triumphs and trials of such an audacious career pivot. If you're teetering on the edge of a bold professional leap, this episode will not just inspire you—it will arm you with the wisdom of someone who's journeyed through the uncertainty and emerged with a venture that speaks to her heart.

Women-led start-ups get only 2% of venture capital funding, even though women own 1 in 3 businesses globally. Of that percentage, East Asian women-led startups only receive a small sliver of that 2%. Despite this disparity, women-founded businesses return more than twice as much per dollar invested than those founded by men. Our hosts, Sheryl Chen and Mickey Tesfaye, talk to Winnie Wong, author of You don't have to look the part: How East Asian women thrive as entrepreneurs about what strategies can be employed by both female entrepreneurs and the industry itself to help change the landscape.

Zennon Kapron, Director of Kapronasia and author of 'Chomping at the Bitcoin: The Past, Present and Future of Bitcoin in China' talks to us about how the surge in digital payments in Asia is playing out across the entire region, how super-apps like WeChat, Alipay, and Meituan are changing the game, if BNPL will replace traditional credit cards, and his half-crazy prediction about the next five years for the Asian payments industry.

Pranav Sood from Airwallex joined The MoneyPot LIVE at our booth at Money20/20 Europe 2023 in Amsterdam to discuss the challenges and opportunities of programmatic money movement, including the importance of financial infrastructure and how it can enable businesses of all sizes to scale across borders.

Medhy Souidi, Head of Transformation and Ecosystems at DBS Bank Hong Kong and a passionate innovator in the financial industry, shares insights on the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) considerations, how the technology is evolving, what this means for the future of work, generative AI pilot use cases, as well as where the technology is headed in the next five years.

In Indonesia, 40 percent of the population is unbanked, but Yada Piyajomkwan, Co-Founder and CPO of Ajaib saw a future where learning to invest could actually be the on-ramp to financial inclusion and building wealth, allowing people to achieve financial literacy while growing their own portfolios. We got to speak to her about why she started Ajaib, why she saw investment as a crucial point of spear, and what she is hoping for in the coming year as we head into Money20/20 Asia 2024.

Did you know six in 10 Southeast Asian adults are unbanked or underbanked and nine in 10 do not have credit cards? Wenbin Wong, Managing Director at GrabFin, discusses how they've made financial services more accessible for different user groups, how GrabFin has evolved post pandemic, insights on embedded finance, supporting the growth of everyday enterprises, BNPL integration, and what's next for GrabFin.

With over 120 billion baht processed, DeeMoney has saved consumers and businesses potentially 1.2 billion baht in transaction fees and foreign exchange rates. In this podcast, the company's Co-founder and Managing Director Rasmegh (Megha) Srisethi recounts their mission to revolutionise the cross-border fintech ecosystem and discusses the unique challenges DeeMoney has faced, their commitment to security, and the strategies that have helped them build international partnerships.

BigPay's Principal (Product) Monica Millares shares insights about her role at the fast-growing Southeast Asian neobank and her views on the growing financial stress that we all find ourselves under, how this impacts our quality of life and mental health, insights on underbanked and unbanked, as well as the role fintech has to play in all of this. Monica also shares her top career and life lessons and advice to those just starting out in the industry.

In the turbulent world of cryptocurrency, one company has a bold mission to provide financial inclusion at unprecedentedly low cost. Discover how Bitkub secured the first crypto exchange license in Thailand and has remained sustainably profitable. Its Founder and Group CEO Khun Topp shares insights into their unique customer acquisition strategies and unveils the company's ambitious expansion plans as Southeast Asia steps into the golden era of fintech.

Every once in a while, someone uses truly clever solutions to leapfrog forward and show us how technology can truly solve real problems. That’s what Carmen Vicelich did with Valocity - a global platform that uses data for property valuations. In this MoneyPot podcast episode, she takes us through the challenge, and where she hopes her solutions will go.