Despite the challenging global economic backdrop and ongoing geopolitical stress, the fintech sector in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region has displayed resilience and adaptability, with the six largest Asean economies attracting US$1.41 billion in fintech funding in the first nine months of 2024 alone, accounting for 4% of global investments in the sector, according to a recent report.
Although this amount marked a slight decline from the previous year, it still reflects a significant recovery from the 71% year-over-year drop seen between 2022 and 2023, finds the Fintech in ASEAN 2024: A Decade of Innovation report, which was jointly produced by UOB, PwC Singapore and the Singapore Fintech Association and was made public at the ongoing Singapore Fintech Festival.
The report details the region’s funding trajectory and outlines how emerging technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and quantum computing, are now expected to drive the next wave of growth.
As well, over the past decade, fintech funding in Asean, the report notes, has surged more than tenfold, totalling over US$20 billion via nearly 1,500 deals. This growth has been predominantly concentrated in payment solutions and alternative lending, which collectively attracted more than half of the region’s funding.
Payment-focused fintech’s led the investment surge with US$6.5 billion, followed by alternative lending at US$4.1 billion, highlighting investor appetite for services that democratize financial access and improve cross-border transactions.
As well, GenAI and quantum computing, the report highlights, demonstrate transformative potential as these technologies are expected to redefine fintech by offering faster, more secure and intelligent solutions that can revolutionize customer service, risk management and data processing.
In the GenAI sector alone, global investment rose by 38% year-over-year in 2024, underscoring its growing importance.
Singapore and Thailand have emerged as the primary beneficiaries of the fintech boom. Singapore secured over half of the region’s total funding, the report details, bringing in US$745 million from 62 deals, which spanned nine fintech categories.
Thailand, meanwhile, attracted US$341 million, climbing to second place in Asean’s fintech investment ranking by overtaking Indonesia. Thailand’s rise was backed by two mega deals that pushed early-stage fintech funding over the US$240 million mark.
“The Asean fintech sector has evolved from a disruptive force to an essential part of financial ecosystems,” says Janet Young, UOB’s managing director and group head of channels and digitalization. “Supported by an improving macroeconomic environment and advanced technologies, the sector continues to show immense promise.”
