In South-east Asia, financial access is not the same as financial inclusion
Opening bank accounts is one thing. Being financially literate is another
A MOBILE-FIRST fintech surge across South-east Asia has led to the digital economy becoming a key growth driver for the region. Over the past decade, South-east Asia has added more than 200 million Internet users and over 60 per cent of regional payments are now digitalised, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2025 report. In a region of over 700 million people, the data shows the scale of this fintech growth.
Progress, however, remains uneven. While almost 98 per cent of adults in Singapore and just under 92 per cent in Thailand have a financial account, that figure falls below 40 per cent in Cambodia and Laos, based on World Bank data.
The mission of expanding access is therefore far from complete. But as millions more consumers enter the financial system, we must ask ourselves a second question: what does meaningful financial inclusion look like once access has been achieved?
We have learnt as a region that financial access only tells half the story. True financial empowerment is not achieved simply through accounts being opened and transactions occurring.
Around half of Filipino adults had a formal financial account in 2025, with e-money accounts more widespread than traditional bank accounts.
Yet, only 16 per cent of adults borrowed through formal channels and only two in 10 Filipino adults reported having an investment, reported the Philippines’ central bank.
This reflects a need to not only continue bringing more people into the financial system, but to support those who already have access to move beyond basic transactions towards saving, responsible borrowing, protection and investment.
The G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion defines financial well-being as a state in which people can “smoothly manage their financial needs and obligations, cope with negative shocks, pursue aspirations and feel satisfied and confident about their financial lives”.
Turning financial access into progress and inclusion will not happen overnight. It requires all of us in the financial services industry to think differently about how we use data, how we protect consumers and how we equip them to make informed financial decisions.
How inclusion can deepen
First, innovative use of data can help turn access into opportunity. Many consumers still lack conventional credit histories or established relationships with traditional banks, making it difficult to demonstrate creditworthiness.
Indonesia offers an encouraging example. In 2025, its financial regulator introduced a framework for alternative credit scoring, enabling providers to use alternative sources of information to assess borrowers with limited credit histories.
A 2026 International Finance Corporation report similarly explored how information such as mobile-money transactions, digital payments and platform behaviour, augmented by the use of artificial intelligence, can help lenders assess the creditworthiness of previously “invisible” consumers.
With appropriate safeguards, leveraging unconventional financial data can thus help close the financial access-progress gap.
Second, as financial participation deepens, consumer protection must strengthen with it. Providers must ensure products are appropriate, transparent and designed to support sustainable financial outcomes.
This is particularly important for lower-income and first-time users, who may be more vulnerable to scams, fraud and misuse of financial products.
It is a key goal of the region. The 2026 Asean Summit in May highlighted the group’s aim of promoting “digital financial literacy” and “robust digital consumer protection”, as part of a larger commitment to financial inclusion.
Finally, we must go beyond viewing financial education as a baseline and see it as a means of empowerment.
It should be designed to equip consumers with the tools to make critical financial decisions, whether understanding repayment obligations, recognising a potential unsafe transaction or accounting for investment-related risks, such as changes in interest rates.
For example, Thailand scores relatively highly on overall financial literacy, yet falls below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s average on specific financial concepts such as loan interest calculations, understanding compound interest and defining inflation.
More should be done to deepen financial knowledge so that consumers can feel confident in using more tools to advance their goals.
In the age of AI, we should also be using it to tailor financial education to each individual consumer, moving beyond a textbook-based approach that focuses on broad introductory theory rather than a clear, long-term goal.
As ecosystem partners, we have an opportunity to create a generation of consumers who are better equipped to make informed financial decisions, navigate uncertainty, increase resilience and build for their futures.
The next chapter of South-east Asia’s financial inclusion story must be about more than expanding access. It must also be about what access can enable and how it can empower people to prosper.
The writer is CEO of Mynt
The commentary is based on the writer’s own experiences, observations and argument. AI tools were used for research and editing. The writer remains fully accountable for the commentary’s accuracy, originality and final form.
