South-East Asia’s SMEs are underperforming. Their ‘digital revolution’ depends on fintech
January 24th, 2022 – Major economies in South-East Asia have been hit hard by the pandemic and are still navigating the path to recovery amid renewed outbreaks, new virus variants and an uneven vaccine roll-out. Yet as devastating as lockdown restrictions have been, they are also proving a positive driving force for millions of consumers to adapt to new ways of spending and embracing digital commerce, permanently changing consumer behaviour.
According to research conducted by Bain & Company and Facebook, eight in 10 consumers in South-East Asia are now digital. To put that number into perspective, the number of new digital consumers added in just one year in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam is equivalent to the population of the entire UK.
Digital financial services, in particular, have kept the South-East Asian economy afloat. The rise of digital payments and greater access to the internet have fuelled the rapid rise in digital consumers amid the pandemic. Online payments in the region are poised to exceed $1 trillion by 2025, driven by the ongoing trend away from cash payments and increased usage of e-commerce, as well as further development of new payment methods, particularly for e-wallets and prepaid cards.
Written by The Print
Photo: PrimeGlobal
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