Over 50% of global fintech investment in Asia-Pacific this quarter

FINTECH (financial technology) companies in the Asia-Pacific received more than half of the US$5.3 billion in global investment in the first quarter, an Accenture report on Monday showed.

The fintech investment in this region, at US$2.7 billion, has jumped several times from US$445 million in the same period last year.

China has had the lion's share of fintech investment as at end-2015, accounting for 45 per cent of all fintech investments that flowed into the Asia-Pacific.

"The drive for fintech innovation is spreading well beyond traditional tech hubs," said Richard Lumb, Accenture's group chief executive, financial services, in a media statement.

"New frontiers like robotics, blockchain and the Internet of Things are bound less by geography than by the industry's ability to adopt and scale clever ideas that improve service and efficiencies. The so-called 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' is a global phenomenon that brings new innovation and digital companies that compete and collaborate with traditional financial services. Bank customers stand to gain from this."