At the same time, cities in the region have made strong progress in developing their fintech ecosystems in the past year, building on a surge in demand for technology that increases access to digital finance.
Singapore kept its crown as Asia-Pacific's top country for fintech activity, but its global rank fell one place this year to fourth, behind joint leaders the U.S. and U.K., and Israel, and ahead of fifth-placed Switzerland, according to the «Global Fintech Rankings Report» by Findexible and Mambu.
The city-state also ranked 10th among cities worldwide, six spots lower than in 2020, while neighbors Jakarta moved up 27 places in city rankings, to no. 32 globally, and Kuala Lumpur climbed 11 places to no. 67.
Stiff Competition
«The seriously impressive fintech innovation coming from many emerging Asian economies means Singapore will have some stiff competition to stay at the top of the pack,» Myles Bertrand, Mambu managing director APA, said in additional comments.
This year, 50 cities and 20 countries were added to the index which identifies emerging hubs, fintech companies and trends. A city has to host the headquarters of at least 10 privately-owned fintech companies to be included in the index.
«Fintech is the great equaliser when it comes to financial inclusion, so we are thrilled to see so much progress being made in the space across the Asia Pacific region,» Bertrand added.
Funding Gap
«Fintech is bridging gaps in consumers’ lives, many of them revealed or made more urgent by the COVID-19 pandemic,» the report said. However, it noted a «significant» funding gap between major players and the next generation of innovators
Fintech unicorns now accounting for 20 percent of total tech unicorn value. The total invested in fintech unicorns now stands at $440 billion, up from $199 billion in April 2020.
