Contactless and cashless FinTech to flourish in emerging economies in APAC
Emerging economies in the APAC region are becoming a potent market for fintech, payment systems and contactless transactions. One of the reasons is the increase in smartphone penetration leading to higher numbers of contactless mobile payment users in the region.
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For example, in March Crayon Data, an artificial intelligence and big data company headquartered in Singapore, parted ways with Visa. Crayon Data’s flagship platform, maya.ai generates insights based on non-PII consumer data powers digital personalized storefronts for leading card issuers in India (~15M customers, ~30B$ portfolio); successful digital wallet in ASEAN (~10 million customers, 25B$ portfolio); and personal lifestyle marketplace for a leading Islamic bank in the UAE (~1M customers, 15B portfolio).
APAC is set to grow the fastest in cashless transaction volume, growing by 109%, followed by Africa and Europe
Suresh Shankar, CEO and founder of Crayon Data
Suresh Shankar, CEO and founder of Crayon Data, says, “APAC is set to grow fastest in cashless transaction volume with 109% growth, followed by Africa and Europe.”
Similarly, RBL Bank and the Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank) entered into an agreement in February under the Trade Assistance Program (TAP) to support cross-border trade transactions. With India Exim Bank’s support, RBL Bank plans to gain a foothold in countries where trade lines are restricted.
Through the programme, India Exim Bank will extend trade lines to participating foreign banks/institutions in emerging markets. The credit enhancements to trade instruments provided under TAP will help mobilize trade finance and will increase support to Indian exporters.
The financing structure of this arrangement gives us an opportunity to offer trading services in untapped markets while reducing the risks associated with global trading
R Subramaniakumar, Managing Director and CEO, RBL Bank
R Subramaniakumar, MD & CEO, RBL Bank said, “The financing structure of this arrangement gives us an opportunity to offer trading services in untapped markets while mitigating the risks associated with global trading.”
Harsha B Bangari, Managing Director, India Exim Bank said, “Under the programme, India Exim Bank has already supported several trade transactions covering a wide range of sectors including agriculture, auto and auto parts, capital and engineering, food, iron and steel and textiles involving exports to geographies in Africa, Asia and Latin America.”
Another important partnership in the region was between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) when the PayNow-UPI link was launched.
Smartphone penetration increases users of contactless mobile payments
According to a Juniper Research study, the number of unique contactless mobile payment users will touch 1 billion worldwide by 2024, up from 782 million in 2022, a growth of 60%. The report predicts higher investment in contactless infrastructure, especially in emerging regions, leading to over 200 million new contactless payment users in the market by 2024.
Read more: UPI is free, fast, secure and seamless, says NPCI
The research identifies increasing smartphone penetration in emerging regions as the main reason for this growth. Smartphone penetration in emerging regions such as Asia Pacific is set to surpass 99% by 2024, making it easier for an additional 67 million users to adopt mobile payments because they will then own the necessary hardware to make NFC payments through their phones.
