The use of fintech products and services in Singapore has grown substantially in the past two years, though the country still lags China and India by a large margin.
The fintech adoption rate among Singapore consumers has almost tripled to 67 percent in 2019 from just 23 percent in 2017, according to the «Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019» published by professional services firm EY.
The report, its third edition, was based data gathered from an online survey of over 27,000 consumers in 27 markets. Leading the index were mainland China and India, which both recorded 87 percent consumer fintech adoption, followed closely by Russia and South Africa (both 82 percent).
«Singapore has enjoyed significantly increased rates of consumer fintech adoption and we expect even higher rates in the future, due to the supportive regulatory environment. Singapore may be a relatively small business-to-consumer (B2C) market by size, but it is a hotbed for innovation and a great launchpad for startups and businesses to build their technology, test it, and then scale across Southeast Asia,» Varun Mittal, EY Global Emerging Markets FinTech Leader, said.
Fintech Adoption Trends
The report credited fintech's phenomenal rise to the increasing consumer and SME awareness and engagement with fintech products and services. When the report was first published in 2015, the average global adoption rate stood at 16 percent. It is now 64 percent, with money transfers and payment services driving awareness globally.
Crucially, EY noted that maturing fintech challengers are having a growing influence on the market, actively driving legacy and non-financial organizations to develop their own fintech products and services.
Among other findings, the report said that consolidated platforms have an edge, with 6o percent of consumers preferring to access services through a single platform, and that non-financial players are on the rise, with 68 percent of respondents saying they are willing to consider a financial proposition by a non-financial company.
