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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Venture capital investments in APAC-based fintech surged to a record high of $15.69 billion in 2021, more than double the prior year's figure of $5.87 billion, said a study.
While this growth followed subdued funding activity in 2020, the 2021 figure also represented a 74% jump from 2019's pre-pandemic levels, according to the 2022 Asia Pacific (APAC) Fintech Market Report from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
"Looming interest rate hikes could toughen the venture capital environment, but fintech with strong market positions will likely have no trouble attracting investors," the study stated.
Payment companies ranked in the largest amount of funding, reflecting investors' bullishness in the sector as the region noted a huge surge in digital payments amid the pandemic.
In APAC, the uptake in cashless payments has largely come from non-card payment methods with fintech arms of large digital conglomerates increasingly taking market share.
Consumers' shift to mobile payments has adversely impacted banks, which have historically focused on growing their lucrative credit card businesses.
"In 2020, we estimated that Southeast Asian banks lost $778 million in interchange revenue in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia as credit card activity took a hit, while Indian banks lost $524 million in fiscal 2021 ending March 31, 2021," said the study.
In response to the potential threat of banks being disintermediat...................... To view our full article Click here
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