South-east Asian consumers prefer digital financial services: study

SOUTH-EAST Asian consumers are blazing the way for digital financial services, as a recent study from VMware revealed that 57 per cent of consumers in the region prefer engaging with their banks via apps rather than in-person at a branch.

That is some percentage points higher than the interest shown in the UK (45 per cent), the US (42 per cent), Germany (34 per cent) and France (44 per cent).

Nonetheless, trust and privacy prove to be of utmost importance to respondents in the region, with 82 per cent considering security to be their top priority when choosing a financial services provider.

Therefore, financial ecosystems in the region will have to strive to create secure digital foundations while accelerating innovation, the report said.

"Beyond a robust digital foundation to help financial services organisations respond and adapt to the shifting consumer demands, we have to bear in mind the ethical considerations of South-east Asia's increasingly progressive consumer base," said Guru Venkatachalam, vice-president and chief technical officer, Asia-Pacific and Japan, VMware.

Within the region, Singaporeans are most happy to interact digitally with financial services firms, with 68 per cent expressing this interest. That's not too far off from Malaysia (66 per cent), Indonesia (58 per cent) and the Philippines (63 per cent).

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

Asean Business

Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.

Sign Up

The study, conducted from November to December last year, surveyed 1,000 consumers per market from South-east Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines), the US, UK, Germany and France.

The increased interest in digital financial services could be due to a better appreciation of technology's role in creating value over the past year, the VMware Digital Frontiers 3.0 Study suggested.

Six in 10 South-east Asian respondents (63 per cent) agreed that digital engagements with financial services firms helped free up their time, allowing them to focus on other priorities.

This has also led to an increasing embrace of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). The study found that seven in 10 consumers in the region trust AI, and 41 per cent were even willing to let an app make investment decisions for them over an individual that works for the bank.

Mr Venkatachalam reiterated the importance of delivering innovative solutions in driving the future of finance, adding that cutting-edge innovations will accelerate the transformation of the region's financial industry and allow companies to better meet evolving consumer needs.