ASIA'S cultural and economic diversity makes it difficult to draw broad generalisations about trends and issues in the financial services industry. However, one clear trend is the growing incidence and size of payment fraud across the region, especially as customer transactions are increasingly completed either online or through a mobile phone.

Indeed, the region has taken the lead in mobile payments with Japan, South Korea and China all embracing mobile wallet and payment technology. In China itself, many university graduates skip credit cards completely and jump straight into the virtual realm of digital wallets and instant payments.

Online banking in Asia is also growing rapidly: According to McKinsey, the region had 670 million online banking customers in 2012 and will reach 1.7 billion by 2020.