Disruptive Trends in Digital Banks in Asia Pacific and Australasia - II: Market landscape

April 2023

Early digital banks in East and South Asia have generated profits. Their success in both developed and emerging markets is a good reference for new digital banks, especially in Southeast Asia. However, a few digital banks in Australia have failed. Their lack of ecosystem partnerships and focus on pricing incentives are also lessons for peers in what to avoid.

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Key findings

East and South Asia led in digital bank development

Japan, China, South Korea and India were the earliest to issue licences to digital banks, driving the first two waves of development. Most of the digital banks in Japan and China have reported profitability, while peers in South Korea and India are in different phases. The profitable players progressed well in five key areas of the profitability framework discussed in the part I of the digital bank strategy briefings.

Financial inclusion in Southeast Asia and India

Key emerging markets, such as Vietnam and India, have a higher proportion of financially underserved and unbanked consumers, with low revenue potential for incumbents. This scenario does, however, provide opportunities for digital banks with sound credit decision-making, prudent risk management and low cost structures.

Digital bank failures in Australia

The five winners of digital bank licences in Australia were Volt Bank, Judo Bank, 86 400, Xinja Bank and IN1. Most of them adopted a “neobank” model. Only Judo Bank and IN1 Bank still survive, leveraging business banking revenue. In contrast, Volt and Xinja closed down, while 86 400 was acquired by National Australia Bank (NAB).

Tough battles in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore

Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore have high banking penetration for consumer finance. Quite a few digital banks offer promote the better interest rates, for customer acquisition and retention. Most of them still focus on deposits and financial cards, lacking solutions in lending, investment and insurance.

Scope
Key findings
Why relevant for digital banks, incumbents, non-bank consumer businesses and fintechs?
Five key drivers of profitability for digital banks
Target underserved segment and expand to fully banked population
Digital bank market competitive landscape in Asia Pacific and Australasia
Favourable regulations permitting digital banks promote competition and inclusion
Japan’s banking structure changing following digital shift
Minna Bank Ltd offers unique services targeting digital natives in Japan
UI Bank values face-to-face interactions and supports digitalisation among seniors
Digital banks in China: competitive landscape
Zhongbang Bank (Z-Bank) driving digital banking in Hubei
Chongqing Fumin Bank prioritises unsecured personal lending in Chongqing
Three digital banks in South Korea have simple user interfaces
Digital banks in South Korea have tech and bank shareholders
K Bank focuses on price to gain traction in revenue growth
K Bank’s partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit in Korea
Indian payment banks leverage lean operations and convenience to attract demand
Payments banks partner with finance firms to offer lending and incumbents for cards
Neobanks in India rely on partnerships and customer engagement
List of neobanks and their key partner bank in India
Up Bank and U Bank in Australia prioritise secured lending
Spending tracking and open roadmap to engage customers
Xinja shut down given lack of lending and high deposit gathering expenses
Hong Kong’s digital banks are backed by a mix of banks and fintechs?
Unsecured lending is the main lending product offered by Hong Kong’s digital banks
Hong Kong’s digital banks are starting to show a decline in loss
ZA Bank’s revenue has surpassed the combined revenue of all other digital banks in HK
Customer engagement: ZA Bank’s “Power Draw” encourages engagement and spending
ZA Bank takes gamification and customer engagement beyond the digital world
Lending focus: ZA Bank offers the widest variety of lending products among digital banks
Line Bank tapping on Line for customer acquisition and gamification for deposit gathering
Line Bank to follow WeBank and KakaoBank model to drive progress to profit
Singapore digital banks have been equipped with ecosystem advantage
Transparency and freedom in data sharing
Singapore is a well-served market dominated by three local banks
TrustBank expected to increase physical touchpoints leveraging NTUC FairPrice outlets
TrustBank and GxS Bank likely to accelerate lending product development
Frictionless customer journey is critical to save users’ time when banking
Six banks granted digital bank licences under BSP
Tonik Bank driving revenue growth by accelerating launching lending products
Fund transfers now made easier and faster with Tonik
GCash expanded to financial services by partnerships with CIMB
Majority of digital banks in Indonesia belong to the incumbents
Allo Bank offers pay later up to IDR100 million to differentiate in the market
Bank Neo Commerce to launch investment and expand lending portfolio in 2023
Bank Jago goes beyond GoTo ecosystem to accelerate growth
Malaysia’s digital banks aim to further advance financial inclusion
Malaysia’s digital banks have competitive and experienced shareholders
Malaysia digital banks are equipped with competitive and experienced shareholders
Incumbent banks accelerating digital transformation to defend against challengers
Eight tech players likely to join the race for digital bank licences in Thailand
Digital banks in Vietnam active in building partnerships
Cake digital bank drives lending growth by embedded finance
Investment, savings, discounts and more: How Cake is rapidly gaining customers
TP Bank: How incumbent banks can go digital and adapt to the evolving market
TP Bank: How they made their business profitable
Key summary
13 researched markets for consumer finance in Asia Pacific and Australasia
Ranking of digital wallets and Kakao Talk monthly active users (MAU) in South Korea

Payments and Lending

This is the aggregation of Financial Cards and Payments, Mobile Payments, Transactions, and Consumer Lending.

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