As banks go online, new challengers emerge

Singapore

ACROSS Asia, digital banking is showing a significant upward trajectory and banks in Singapore are investing to strengthen their digital offerings to keep up with the expectations of customers.

But even as banks are upping their game with digitalisation, a group of savvy companies that use technology to make financial systems more efficient are muscling their way into the online financial payments and transactions business. (INFOGRAPHIC: Top Asian fintechs)

Collectively called fintechs, these companies are in the process of disrupting the financial services industry, and banks need to tailor their digital strategies in order to both collaborate as well as compete with them.

A report by McKinsey estimated that there are nearly 700 million digital banking consumers across Asia, with a significant portion in fast-growing markets such as China and India. At the same time, digital offerings are changing the way that Asian consumers do the…