Experience of Neobanking in the Countries of the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract

The trend towards the development of neobanking has swept almost the entire world, changing traditional banking and shaping the offer of digital financial services. The Asia-Pacific region is characterized by the dynamic spread of neobanking, which is significantly facilitated by the demographic situation and the increase in the number of technology companies with a corresponding increase in the number of IT devices. The use of fintech services in the Asia-Pacific region is growing dynamically. The leaders in terms of growth rates are China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. According to current forecasts, another 663 million people in the Asia-Pacific region will start using mobile Internet by 2025, which will contribute to the further development of neobanking. The number of neobanks in the Asia-Pacific region lags behind the countries of Europe and the United States, but their number is growing at a much faster pace. Despite the constant growth in the number of consumers of neobank services in the region, there are also constraints that hinder growth. These include: lack of trust in services of the new format, reluctance to change the provider of financial services, and lack of information about the capabilities of neobanks. Also, in some areas, there is virtually no stable access to the Internet, this becomes another obstacle to the activities of neobanks. The number of neobank users in the Asia-Pacific region is constantly growing – from 2.9 million people in 2017 to 22.8 million people in 2021. In each market of Southeast Asia, regulatory authorities have their own specifics of regulating the activities of neobanks, regulations vary significantly depending on the country. As a result, the range of services provided by neobanks in the countries of the region is different: from a full range of banking services to a narrow specialization in servicing small business owners. Further prospects for the development of neobanking in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region depend on the following main factors: State regulation of the banking sector; technical capabilities of neobanks to personalize financial services, process large amounts of data and conduct online transactions; competition or cooperation with traditional banks. There is already a tendency in the world for traditional banks and neobanks to search for mutually beneficial options for cooperation. For example, P2P lending and P2B lending, in which traditional banks are trying to participate, teaming up with neobanks. Neobanking is also supported by the issue that modern bank customers are less and less inclined to visit physical bank branches to conduct financial transactions. It is concluded that although there is a significant number of the population not covered by banking services, the development of neobanking in the Asia-Pacific region is proceeding at a rapid pace, which is facilitated by demographic indicators, high rates of economic growth, and cooperation with traditional banking institutions. Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, and Thailand have the greatest potential for the development of neobanking.

Keywords

• traditional banking establishments
• neobanking
• financial services
• financial operations