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, when 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. That was the broadest range observed locally.

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.