Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Global FinTech

Adoption Index

2019

As FinTech becomes the norm,

you need to stand out from the

crowd

2 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

For this year’s survey, we interviewed more than 27,000

consumers in 27 markets. We examined not only how FinTech

has improved and expanded its offerings around the world,

but also how it has spurred change across the entire nancial

services industry. FinTech strives to make nancial services

more accessible for both consumers and businesses. By

connecting customers to a digital world, FinTech enhances

their experiences, making them efcient, economical

and frictionless.

There are a few key themes in this year’s report:

• No longer just disrupters, FinTech challengers

have grown into sophisticated competitors, with an

increasingly global reach.

• Many nancial incumbents, such as banks and insurers,

offer credible FinTech propositions of their own,

challenging the question of what is a “FinTech?”

• The interactions between challengers, incumbents and

players from outside the nancial industry are forming

FinTech ecosystems that are replacing traditional

bilateral partnerships.

These themes extend beyond the consumer space. Small

and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly using

FinTech services. These businesses constitute a distinct

customer segment, with needs that are different both from

those of consumers and those of large corporations. Thus,

this report also contains the rst SME FinTech Adoption

Index—a survey of 1,000 organizations in ve markets.

To help bring to life the ndings of our surveys, we conducted

interviews with a wide range of FinTechs, including stand-

alone challengers, nancial incumbents and non-nancial

services companies. Our 2017 case studies focused on how

FinTech acquired customers and gained market share. This

year, our case studies highlight scaling and expansion—and

how these organizations are working within a new context

for nancial services.

We expect some of the newer themes we’ve identied to

accelerate—including the entry of non-nancial companies

into the FinTech arena and the spread of ecosystems. The

pace of innovation continues to accelerate, becoming the

“new normal” within nancial services. We hope this report

contributes to a deeper understanding of FinTech’s evolving

role, and we look forward to observing how this dynamic

industry develops in the future.

Foreword

FinTech has evolved in signicant ways since we published our rst global EY FinTech

Adoption Index in 2015. That year we observed that FinTech, while nascent, was

“clearly more than just hype.” Our next report, in 2017, found that the industry

had grown rapidly and had “achieved initial mass adoption.”

Gary Hwa

EY Global Financial Services

Markets Executive Chair and

EY Asia-Pacic Financial Services

Regional Managing Partner

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 3

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to our panel of FinTech contributors: Coinbase, Funding Circle, Discovery Group, JD Digits, Juvo,

Goldman Sachs, Grab Financial Group, InstaReM, Moneytree KK and Yolt.

05 Keyndings

06 Chapter1:ConsumerFinTechadoptiontrends

08 Seen everywhere: growing and globalizing

11 Redening the rules of the game: changing consumer priorities

15 Rise of non-nancial services companies and the growth of ecosystems

18 Methodology

20 Chapter2:SMEFinTechadoptiontrends

22 SMEs worldwide have become signicant users of FinTech

26 FinTech challengers are joining SME-provider ecosystems

30 Methodology

32 Chapter3:Fromtheinnovator’smouth

33 Introducing the FinTechs

36 Questions and answers

42 Contacts

Contents

4 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Key ndings

We dene FinTech as organizations that combine innovative business

models and technology to enable, enhance and disrupt nancial services.

Attractive

rates and

fees

Top reason for consumers

to use a FinTech challenger

Range of functionality

and features

Top reason for SME adopters to use a FinTech challenger

Consumer survey

64%

Global consumer adoption

3 out of 4 global

consumers use a

money transfer

and payments

FinTech service

75%

1 out of 2 global

consumers use an

insurance FinTech

service

48%96%

Global consumers

are aware of at least

one money transfer

and payment

FinTech service

Consumer adopters

turn to someone

other than their

main bank rst

33%

Consumers would

consider a non-

nancial services

company for

nancial services

68%

Consumer adopters

are willing to share

their bank data with

other organizations

46%

SME survey

25%

Global SME adoption

SMEs use

a nancing

FinTech service

46%

SMEs use a banking

and payments

FinTech service

56%

SME adopters

prefer to nd a

technological

solution where

possible

93%

SME adopters are

willing to share

data with FinTech

companies

89%

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 5

Consumer FinTech adoption trends

The FinTech industry has grown up and grown

out. No longer made up of only start-ups,

FinTech today is a host of seasoned companies

that offer a broad array of nancial services and

operate on a global stage.

Consumers like what they see. Adoption of FinTech services

has moved steadily upward, from 16% in 2015, the year our

rst FinTech Adoption Index was published, to 33% in 2017,

to 64% in 2019. Awareness of FinTech, even among non-

adopters, is now very high. Worldwide, for example, 96% of

consumers know of at least one alternative FinTech service

available to help them transfer money and make payments.

Adapting to the rapid evolution of this dynamic and

innovative industry, we conducted online interviews with

more than 27,000 consumers in 27 markets across six

continents, up from 20 markets in 2017. Ten of the 27

markets this year are emerging markets, a recognition of

the leading role many of these emerging markets play in

FinTech adoption.

We asked consumers about their use of 19 FinTech services

across ve categories. We continue to dene a FinTech

adopter as someone who has used two or more “buckets”

of services, since this indicates a habitual change in behavior

in a way that use of a single service does not. A bucket

consists of a major FinTech service, or two or more related

services, such as online stockbroking and online investment

advice. We discuss our methodology in greater detail at the

end of this chapter.

This year for the rst time we formally included innovative,

technology-enabled services provided by incumbent nancial

institutions, such as banks, insurers, brokers and wealth

managers, in our denition of FinTech. In prior years, we

focused on services originated by challengers (some of

whom may have partnered with, or received a substantial

investment from, an incumbent). The inclusion of incumbents

is an acknowledgement that many established players have

developed comparable digital offerings that compete with

those offered by FinTech challengers.

We see two main types of FinTech propositions: “disrupted”

and “invented”. A disrupted service is one that has

historically been offered by incumbents, such as automotive

insurance or foreign exchange trading. FinTech providers use

technology to disrupt these services by offering consumers

a more compelling offering such as enhanced capabilities,

convenience, or lower prices and fees. This profoundly

changes customer expectations in the process, pressuring

incumbents to develop their similar services to stay

competitive and retain market share.

An invented service is one that didn’t exist before but is

now possible by technology and alternative business models,

such as peer-to-peer lending and mobile-phone payments.

Some invented services ll niches in the market, and

others have the potential to redene and transform entire

nancial subsectors.

Chapter 1

6 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

FIGURE 1 | Consumer FinTech adoption across 27 markets

Notes: The gures show FinTech adopters as a percentage of the digitally active population in each market.

All averages are shown on an unweighted basis.

*Hong Kong SAR of China

**Belgium & Luxembourg

64%

Average

adoption

% China

% India

% Russia

% South Africa

% Colombia

% Peru

% Netherlands

% Mexico

% Ireland

% UK

% Argentina

% Hong Kong*

% Singapore

% South Korea

% Chile

% Brazil

% Germany

% Sweden

% Switzerland

% Australia

% Spain

% Italy

% Canada

% USA

42% Bel & Lux**

% France

% Japan

4060

3070

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 7

FinTech is an industry that has evolved beyond its

early stages to signicantly move the dial on customer

expectations. FinTech challengers are looking less like

start-ups and more like professionally managed companies

with broad operational capabilities, a full suite of products

and a global reach. Many of these companies have been

through several rounds of fund-raising, increased their staff,

created corporate departments such as human resources,

accounting and legal, and expanded beyond their home

markets.

Clearly, FinTech has caught on around the world, entering

the mainstream in all markets studied. Emerging markets are

leading the way: in both China and India, the adoption rate

is 87%. Close behind are Russia and South Africa, both with

82% adoption. Among developed countries, the Netherlands,

the UK and Ireland lead in adoption, reecting in part the

development of open banking in Europe.

Indicatively, the adoption rate for the six markets from our

rst survey — Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore,

the UK and the US — has surged from 16% in 2015, to 31%

in 2017, to 60% in 2019. Over the course of ve years,

these six markets have become excellent case studies in the

maturation and globalization of the industry. In the past 18

months, EY research has shown that more than half of the

top FinTech fundraises in these six markets intend to use

some or all of funds raised for international expansion.

Notes: The gures show adoption rates per market for the six markets

for which a comparison is available.

FIGURE 2 | Comparison of FinTech adoption in six markets

from 2015 to 2019

The adoption rate is growing faster than anticipated. The

actual global adoption rate of 64% in 2019 exceeds by

12 points the 52% future adoption rate predicted by our

2017 survey.

What’s behind the strong growth in FinTech adoption? One

reason: Incumbents have entered the fray in a big way.

Markets with a sharp rise in adoption from 2017 to 2019,

such as Ireland, the Netherlands and Singapore, reect the

availability of FinTech services offered by banks, insurers,

stock brokers and other incumbent nancial institutions.

201920172015

Tota l 

average

Australia

Canada

Hong Kong

Singapore

United

States

16%

13%

29%

15%

14%

17%

31%

37%

18%

32%

23%

42%

33%

60%

58%

50%

67%

71%

46%

Finding1: Global FinTech adoption has reached 64% and has

become mainstream in all the surveyed markets.

Seen everywhere: growing and globalizing

8 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

As in previous years, we grouped FinTech services into ve

categories—money transfer and payments, budgeting and

nancial planning, savings and investment, borrowing and

insurance. Respondents indicated if they were aware of

these services, and if they use them.

Consumer awareness of FinTech services is high across all

categories, but particularly money transfer and payments

services. In both India and Russia, 99.5% of consumers are

aware that there are FinTech services available to transfer

money and make payments. The elevated awareness in

India stems in part from the government’s plan, announced

in 2017, to decrease the amount of paper currency

in circulation. In Russia, the rate of awareness may be

connected to foreign sanctions imposed on major banks,

which has raised the prole of alternative providers for

services such as in remittances and foreign exchange.

Consumers showed surprisingly high levels of awareness for

“invented” FinTech services. Globally, 89% of consumers are

aware of the existence of in-store mobile phone payment

platforms and 82% are aware of peer-to-peer payment

systems and non-bank money transfers—all services driven

by FinTech. The extensive integration of FinTech payments

propositions with on- and ofine retail means consumers are

presented with a range of options upon checkout, further

increasing awareness.

Notes: The gures refer to the percentage of respondents who indicate they were not aware and have not heard of any services for that category.

FIGURE 3 | Consumer awareness of FinTech services in each category

14%

Aware Unaware

Savingsand

investments

Borrowing Insurance

Money transfer

and payments

4% 29% 22% 24%

Budgetingand

nancialplanning

14%

Finding2:Only 4% of global consumers are not aware of

money transfer and payment FinTech services.

Finding3: Three out of four consumers have used a money

transfer and payments FinTech service.

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 9

The most commonly used category is money transfer and

payments, with 75% of consumers using at least one service

in this category. In China, where money transfer and payment

apps are pervasive, the adoption rate is 95%. The most

commonly used services in this category are peer-to-peer

payments, non-bank money transfers, and in-store mobile

payments. Key to their popularity is the ease of setting up an

account, which our 2017 survey found to be the top reason

why consumers were using FinTech. However, the same is not

true for other services – some markets restrict or regulate

services such as investing in equity crowdfunding platforms

and lending on peer-to-peer platforms, which slows adoption

in those areas.

Insurance continues to show strong adoption as well,

with nearly half the consumers globally using a premium

comparison site, feeding information into an insurance-

linked smart device, or buying products such as peer-to-peer

insurance. Here, non-nancial services organizations often

facilitate consumer FinTech adoption, such as equipping cars

with “black boxes” to provide data for telematics insurance

or providing apps on mobile phones that consumers can

use to count steps and gain tness discounts on their

health insurance.

High rates of FinTech use for some services do not

necessarily indicate markets are saturated as a whole.

Our survey shows strong growth potential in areas such

as budgeting and nancial planning, and savings and

investment services. Part of the opportunity lies in reaching

out to the demographic groups where adoption rates for

these categories are still relatively low, including women,

consumers in rural areas, and consumers without university

degrees. For example, use of savings and investment services

is 27% for women and 40% for men.

Overall, we expect the FinTech industry to continue to be

dynamic and innovative, even in categories such as money

transfers and payments. Growth will be driven both by

increased market penetration for existing services and

the global spread of less mature propositions currently

only available in a few markets. We expect to see the

new propositions enter more markets in the future,

either by international scaling and expansion or through

“harmonization,” whereby similar services are provided in

each region by local FinTechs. We also anticipate that new

technologies, such as articial intelligence and blockchain,

will continue to spur the creation of completely new

FinTech services.

Notes: The gures show the average percentage of respondents who reported using one or more FinTech services

in that category. Data for 2015 differs from that originally published in order to align to the 2017 categorization and averaging methodology.

FIGURE 4 | Comparison of FinTech categories ranked by adoption rate from 2015 to 2019

Savings and investments

Borrowing

Insurance

Money transfer and payments

Budgeting and nancial planning

Rank

2015 2017 2019

18% 50% 75%

17% 24% 48%

8% 20% 34%

8% 10% 29%

6% 10% 27%

10 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Redening the rules of the game: changing consumer priorities

However, that level of comfort does not extend to using social

media to communicate with providers. Only 27% of adopters

would prefer to chat with their bank via social media rather

than through the bank’s own app or traditional channels.

That gure is higher (32%) among adopters between the

ages of 25 and 34; prior EY research has found that 68% of

young investors use social media for all purchases, whether in

seeking information or validating their choices after the fact

(see EY, “The new norm: FinTech and the digitally enabled

wealth customer”).

FIGURE 5 | Analysis of views on personal risk management

and digital nancial services, FinTech adopters

versus non-adopters

Notes: The gures show the percentage of respondents who either

‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with statements relating to their attitudes to

nancial and digital services, by FinTech adopters and non-adopters.

I generally read the terms and

conditionswhenIsignupfora

newnancialproduct

Iworryaboutthesecurityof

mypersonaldatawhendealing

withcompaniesonline

I would be comfortable to use

adigital,branchlessnancial

servicesprovider

Iwouldprefertoviewallmy

nancialproductsinoneplace

throughanonlineorapp-basedtool

65%

71%

60%

47%

52%

65%

38%

18%

Adopters Non-adopters

Finding4: FinTech adopters prefer online and

app-based nancial products despite concerns about

personal data security.

Digital innovation is disrupting and reshaping nancial

services at a rapid pace, and incumbents and challengers

alike need to be attuned to the evolving expectations of

their customers. Challengers have built themselves using a

design-rst approach and agile work processes. By keeping

a technology-forward mindset, they are able to offer

FinTech services that are at once personalized, accessible,

transparent, frictionless and cost-effective. As our ndings

showed in 2017, these characteristics are sufciently

appealing to consumers in signicant numbers to create

a truly disruptive threat to incumbent banks, insurers and

wealth managers.

The incumbents that are most responsive to this competitive

threat are those that disrupt their own propositions and offer

comparable FinTech services, either through partnerships,

acquisitions or in-house development. In recent years,

incumbents have brought forth their FinTech versions of

disrupted services in areas such as online foreign exchange,

online investment advice and management, and digital-only

branchless banking.

In effect, FinTech has redened the rules of the game in

nancial services. What was considered new and disruptive

in 2015 has since become a prerequisite for all players. With

so many participants now offering similar services, each

company must strive to differentiate itself to attract and

retain customers, whether by brand, price or execution.

For a company to stand out, it helps to have a keen

appreciation of what FinTech adopters want—and what

concerns they have. While adopters are much more willing

than non-adopters to favor an online tool or an app that

allows them to view all their nancial products in one place,

they are more worried than non-adopters about the security

of their personal data. Security concerns are less pronounced

in Sweden, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, perhaps

due to strong data protection regulations in those markets.

Overall, despite their security concerns, adopters are

comfortable with online aggregator sites and all-digital,

branchless nancial services.

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 11

China is an early forerunner of a global trend sparked by

increased competition, improved onboarding experiences,

and the portability of data enabled by technology and, in

some markets, changes in regulation. Consumers now expect

a frictionless onboarding experience; it has become an

industry hygiene factor, meaning customers can shift their

attention to other priorities.

Interestingly, fewer adopters chose better experiences,

and access to different and more innovative products and

services, as their top reason for using a FinTech challenger,

perhaps indicating the increasing comparability and

competitiveness of FinTech services provided by incumbents.

Given the wide array of FinTech services available today, all

providers have evolved from simply trying to lure curious

or frustrated consumers with an easy set-up process to

developing new strategies to retain existing customers and

induce them to make educated choices.

One telling sign of the FinTech industry’s maturation is

the evolution in consumer priorities when they look for

a provider. In 2017, 30% of adopters ranked the ease of

opening an account as their top priority when selecting a

FinTech provider, while only 13% said attractive fees or prices

were most important. In the 2019 survey, the priorities

ipped, with 27% ranking price rst and 20% picking ease

of opening an account. Chinese consumers ranked ease of

onboarding as the least important consideration—a reection

of the widespread adoption in that market of open APIs and

platform-based services, which has made opening any kind of

nancial services account virtually frictionless.

FIGURE 6 | Select reasons for using FinTech challengers, from 2017 to 2019

Notes: The gures show the percentage of adopters that chose each answer as the primary reason for using a FinTech challenger in 2019 and in

2017. Data for 2017 differs from that originally published in order to align to the 2019 categorization and averaging methodology.

Moreattractiveratesorfees

13%

27%

30%

20%

24%

18%

16%

12%

Easiertosetupanaccount Accesstodifferentand

moreinnovativeproducts

andservices

Betterexperience,better

product features and

qualityofservice

20192017

Finding5: Attractive rates and fees has overtaken the ease

of setting up an account as the primary reason adopters cite

for choosing a FinTech challenger.

12 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

We also see an evolution in the attitudes of non-adopters.

As it was in 2017, lack of awareness and understanding

continues to be the top reason for why consumers opt to

use an incumbent nancial institution rather than a FinTech

challenger. However, one factor has risen from the least

common reason in 2017 to the second most common

reason in 2019 – trust. Non-adopters choose to remain

with incumbent providers because they trust them more

than FinTech challengers. Trust is the top barrier to using

a FinTech challenger in markets such as Chile, France and

Japan. As more incumbents offer their own FinTech

services, their ability to build on pre-existing trust takes

on new signicance.

Finding6: While consumers’ trust in their main bank

or insurer remains high, 33% of FinTech adopters say they

would rst turn to another organization when considering a

new nancial services product.

Most adopters and non-adopters say they would turn rst

to their current bank or insurer when considering a new

service. However, 33% of adopters said they would rst turn

to alternative providers, be it another incumbent, a price

comparison web site or a FinTech challenger. In contrast, 23%

of non-adopters said they “did not know” where they would

turn, suggesting they are underserved by their current banks

and insurers while lacking knowledge of alternatives.

Notes: The gures show the percentage of non-adopters that chose each

answer as the primary reason for using an incumbent nancial institution

in 2019 and in 2017. Data for 2017 differs from that originally published

in order to align to the 2019 categorization and averaging methodology.

FIGURE 7 | Select reasons for using incumbent nancial

institutions, from 2017 to 2019

42%

34%

15%

22%

Notawareorlimited

understandingofhow

FinTechchallengerswork

Greaterleveloftrustthan

withFinTechchallengers

20192017

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 13

Notes: The gures show the percentage of adopters and non-adopters who indicated who they would turn to rst when considering a new nancial

services product or policy.

Adopters are more likely to use multiple providers for

nancial services, from a variety of sources, including

incumbents, FinTechs and organizations from outside the

industry. Eighteen percent of adopters use ve or more

different providers, compared with 7% of non-adopters. The

heightened willingness of adopters to purchase products

from multiple providers correlates with the increased

commoditization and disaggregation of nancial services.

Price-conscious consumers can now readily choose between

a wide variety of incumbents and challengers, and they can

use comparison websites and other tools to help them select

the most suitable products.

Many consumers now hold relationships with numerous

discrete providers for specic products and services. Leading

the way with using ve or more providers are consumers

in China (36%), UK (23%) and Japan (22%). These are also

markets in which open APIs within nancial services have

gained signicant traction, which both enables consumers

to be more easily served by multiple providers and enhances

the value proposition of FinTech services such as personal

nancial management applications.

Ultimately, word-of-mouth plays an important role in the

selection of nancial providers, with 30% of adopters and 35%

of non-adopters relying on “family, friends and colleagues”

for advice, well above the 13% who depend on relationship

managers at their bank or insurer. The rise of social media

networks helps facilitate these consumer-to-consumer

conversations, suggesting that virality, remains an effective

marketing strategy for FinTechs.

These trends mean that incumbents offering their own

FinTech services need to be mindful of industry hygiene

factors, i.e., those product characteristics that consumers

now consider prerequisites, including that they be simple,

transparent, frictionless, personalized and omni-channel.

Incumbents that meet these tests can then build on their

inherent strengths, such as existing customer relationships,

longstanding connections with industry peers and regulators,

and a global brand name.

FIGURE 8 | Primary nancial services relationship owner, by FinTech adopters and non-adopters

A FinTech

company that I

currently have a

relationship with

Options suggested

by a price

comparison site

Other Don’t knowMy existing bank

or insurance

company

Another traditional

nancial services

company that

I don’t have a

relationship with

currently

58% 9% 11% 13% 2% 8%

Adopters

62% 4% 6% 23%2% 3%

Non-adopters

14 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Rise of non-nancial services companies and the growth of ecosystems

FIGURE 9 | Analysis of preferences in using non-nancial

services company as providers of nancial

services products

Figure 9 continues on the following page.

Anon-nancialservicescompanyoffering:

Onlinedigital-only

bankingbankaccount

51%

eWallet that can be used for

paymentswithdifferentbusinesses

52%

Insurance-linkedsmartdevices

forcar,homeandindividualuse

43%

Onlinebudgetingand

nancialplanningtools

40%

Peer-to-peeroronlineshort-

termloansasinvestments

37%

Onlineinvestmentadvice

andinvestmentmanagement

37%

Peer-to-peeroronline

short-termborrowing

36%

Finding7: 68% of consumers are willing to consider a nancial

services product offered by a non-nancial services company.

Challengers and incumbents alike face a new competitive

threat that comes from outside the nancial industry

altogether. Non-nancial services companies such as

retailers, technology platforms, and automakers are

increasingly developing their own technology-enabled

nancial services offerings. These organizations build

on existing relationships with customers to offer holistic

propositions accompanied by complementary services,

including activities such as insurance and lending that were

once the exclusive purview of nancial providers.

Often, these non-nancial services companies enter the

game having already gone through their own transformations

around innovative technologies. They have redeveloped

their original consumer propositions to become faster,

frictionless, cheaper and more convenient. Their successful

transformations inuence consumer perceptions and

expectations toward nancial offerings.

Across the ve categories, 68% of consumers are willing

to consider a nancial product offered by a non-nancial

services company. They are most open to retailers (45%)

and telecommunication rms (44%) as service providers,

and most willing to use money and transfer payment

FinTech services such as digital-only banking and multi-

merchant eWallets.

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 15

Anynancialservicesproducts,asprovidedby:

Anyoftheaboveindustries

68%

Retail

45%

Technologyandsocialmedia

41%

Telecommunications

44%

Powerandutilities

33%

Other

22%

Notes: The gures show the percentage of respondents who indicated

that they would be willing to consider using specic FinTech products, if

they were offered by organizations in non-nancial services industries.

Respondents were also shown examples of local brands for each industry.

As expected, FinTech adopters are much more willing than

non-adopters to consider nancial products offered by non-

nancial services companies. However, even 30% of non-

adopters are willing to consider a digital-only bank account

from a non-nancial services company.

Figure 9 continued.

Many FinTech propositions depend on the easy portability

of data, such as during onboarding or in enabling real-time

account access. Unsurprisingly, when asked whether they

would be comfortable with their main bank sharing their

nancial data with other organizations if that meant they

might receive better offers, 46% of adopters said they would,

compared with just 20% of non-adopters.

However, even adopters are hesitant when it comes to

sharing data with non-nancial services companies; 38%

of adopters said they would be willing to share data with

other traditional nancial institutions, 31% would share

with FinTech challengers, and just 23% would share with

non-nancial services companies. The sentiments differ

somewhat from market to market. Chinese consumers,

for example, are more willing to share data with FinTech

challengers than they are with others nancial companies.

Finding8: 46% of FinTech adopters are willing to share

their bank data with other organizations in exchange for

better offers.

16 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Our ndings show that there is a trust gap that can create

opportunities for both incumbent nancial institutions and

FinTech challengers. Even though non-nancial services

companies have led the way in deploying new technologies

to deliver innovative services and have raised the bar

on consumer expectations, they do not yet have the full

condence of consumers when it comes to providing nancial

services on their own.

When we asked FinTech adopters if they were comfortable

with a non-nancial services company providing nancial

services, almost half (47%) said they would be happy to

use those services if the non-nancial services company

was working in partnership with a traditional nancial

company, 27% said they would be happy to use the services

if the non-nancial services company partnered with a

FinTech challenger, and just 18% said they would be happy

to use the services if the non-nancial services company

offered them on its own. This underscores the prominent

role of incumbents, as the primary bearers of consumer

trust and their main point of contact, in driving the

development of FinTech ecosystems.

Notes: The gures show the percentage of respondents who either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that they would be comfortable for their main bank to

securely share their nancial data with other organizations, by FinTech adopters and non-adopters. “Any provider” reect the percentage of adopters

and non-adopters that have selected ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ for at least one of the other types of organizations.

Looking ahead, newly developing

ecosystems will encourage industry

convergence as FinTech challengers

continue to mature, as more incumbents

offer credible FinTech services, and as

non-nancial services companies

expand their customer offerings into

nancial services.

These ecosystems feature webs of collaborative,

and sometimes conicting, relationships within a

context of continual industry change and innovation.

All this activity suggests more innovation, better

experiences and more choices for global consumers,

who are increasingly aware of and willing to use

FinTech services.

FIGURE 10 | Analysis of preferences in sharing banking data, by FinTech adopters and non-adopters

Adopters Non-adopters

Othernancial

servicesinstitutions

Non-nancialservices

organizations

FinTechchallengers Anyprovider

38%

20%

46%

23%

17%

31%

10%

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 17

Our consumer survey is based on 27,103 online

interviews with digitally active adults between

4 February and 11 March 2019. The aim was to

get a global understanding of FinTech adoption

trends between markets, demographic groups,

and over time. We interviewed consumers in

27 markets: Argentina, Australia, Belgium and

Luxembourg (treated as one market), Brazil,

Canada, Chile, China (mainland), Colombia,

France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland,

Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru,

Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea,

Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

Our 2015 study had 10 FinTech services within ve broad

categories, and we dened a FinTech adopter as someone

who used two or more of these services. In 2017, in

recognition of how the industry had evolved, we added

seven services that were becoming more prevalent globally

(although not necessarily in all our markets). To improve

compatibility among the surveys, we introduced the

concept of “buckets” and grouped similar services together.

Therefore, a FinTech adopter was someone who used two or

more buckets.

Our 2019 study retains the same ve categories used in

prior years: money transfer and payments, budgeting and

nancial planning, savings and investments, borrowing, and

insurance. There are now 19 individual services. However, by

maintaining the same ten buckets that we used in 2017, we

enabled year-on-year comparisons. We have also recognized

that some of these services are the “disrupted” services

historically been offered by traditional nancial providers,

and some are “invented” services originated by FinTech

challengers and enabled by technology.

As with prior years, during the interviews, we described

each FinTech service in non-technical terms and provided

named, market-specic providers of those services to aid the

respondents’ comprehension.

Methodology

18 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

In each market, we used samples that reect current age

and gender distributions. We describe all the respondents as

“digitally active” since the surveys were administered online.

That means the surveys exclude demographic sub-groups

that lack internet access, a skew that is slightly stronger in

emerging markets. Overall, we have an estimated margin of

error of +/- 1.6%, with a 90% condence interval.

The survey was translated and administered in local

languages in markets where English is not a leading

language. This naturally excludes consumers in those

markets who only speak a minority language, but who may

nonetheless use FinTech services offered in that language.

Consistent with previous years, we applied an unweighted

averaging of results, with the “one market, one vote”

approach across the 27 markets. Answers to certain

demographic questions, such as education and income,

were also tailored to each market, and then grouped to allow

for global comparability. When asking respondents about

income levels, we posed the question in each market’s local

currency. To compare between markets, we segmented

incomes into quartiles, with the mean income for each

market as the midpoint.

FIGURE 11 | List of consumer FinTech services

Propositions disrupted by FinTech challengers Propositions invented by FinTech challengers

Money transfer and payments

Online foreign exchange

Overseas remittances

Digital-only branchless banking

Peer-to-peer payments and non-bank money transfers

In-store mobile phone payments

Cryptocurrency eWallet

Budgeting and nancial planning

Online budgeting and nancial planning tools

Online retirement and pensions management tools

Savings and investments

Lending on peer-to-peer platforms

Investments via crowdfunding platforms

Online investment advice and investment management

Online stock broking

Online spreadbetting

Borrowing

Online-only loan providers

Online marketplaces and aggregators for loans

Online loan brokers and broker facilitation websites

Insurance

Insurance premium comparison sites

Insurance-linked smart devices

App-only insurance

ServicesCatergories

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 19

SME FinTech adoption trends

The FinTech Adoption Index has tracked

the evolution of consumer FinTech toward

mainstream adoption and globalization.

However, that only tells part of the story.

Policymakers, incumbent nancial institutions,

and FinTech challengers are increasingly

interested in small and medium-sized enterprises

(SMEs), or small and medium-sized businesses,

as they are known in some markets. In

recognition of their growing importance as a

distinct customer segment—one with needs

that differ from those of consumers and large

corporations—we also conducted a survey of

SME FinTech use and adoption.

We interviewed senior decision makers at 1,000 SMEs in

ve countries— two developed countries (the UK and the

US) and three emerging countries (China, Mexico and South

Africa). Because we asked the respondents to complete an

online survey, our analysis is representative of SMEs that are

digitally active. We discuss our methodology in greater detail

at the end of this chapter.

SMEs are at a different point in their adoption journey

compared to consumers, therefore we used a different

methodology in our SME analysis. An SME FinTech adopter

has in the past six months used services provided by a

FinTech in all four of the following categories: banking and

payments, nancial management, nancing and insurance.

The bar is set high for what constitutes an SME FinTech

adopter. Companies are actively seeking technology solutions

to increase efciency and lower costs across their business.

They are also subject to regulatory requirements in some

markets, which necessitate adoption of products and services

such as bookkeeping tools for audit and tax purposes, or

business liability insurance. FinTech challengers are rapidly

becoming reliable vendors for SMEs in these spaces, which

have been historically underserved by incumbents.

FinTech services used by SMEs also differ from those used

by consumers. Within the payments category, for example,

SMEs use online payment processors and Mobile Point of

Sale (mPOS) payment machines to accept payments, while

consumers use other services, such as in-store mobile phone

payments, to pay for purchases.

Chapter 2

20 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

FIGURE 12 | SME FinTech adoption across 5 markets

Notes: The gures show FinTech adopters as a percentage of the digitally active SME population in each market.

All averages are shown on an unweighted basis.

61% China

% USA

% UK

% South Africa

% Mexico

25%

Average

adoption

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 21

SMEs worldwide have become signicant users of FinTech

Finding1: 25% of SMEs have adopted FinTech globally.

Across the ve markets we surveyed, China displays the

highest FinTech adoption rate at 61%, followed by the US,

at 23%. The adoption rate globally is 25%. That means that

within the past six months, one in four SMEs globally has

used services provided by a FinTech in all four categories.

When SMEs use a FinTech, it essentially means that they have

selected that FinTech to be a vendor. Because SMEs commit

resources and personnel to select their vendors, the decision

to use a FinTech is deliberate and made in a professional

context. SMEs adopt FinTech to address specic business

problems and provide credible solutions. Therefore, 25% is

a high adoption rate when it comes to companies adopting

new technologies.

The exceptionally high adoption rate in China is indicative

of the widespread use of nancial platforms and ecosystems.

Were China not part of the mix, the average global FinTech

adoption rate would be lower, at 17%. In that case, the US

would have the highest SME FinTech adoption among the

four markets, followed by the UK and South Africa.

Our survey shows that the FinTech adoption rate among

SMEs is poised to rise. About 22% of non-adopters already

use FinTech services in three categories, which means they

are on the verge of becoming FinTech adopters. This ties in

with our question about future use, in which we asked SMEs

if they intended to use each FinTech service in the next year.

By that measure, the global adoption rate could surge from

25% to 64%.

FinTech adopters share common characteristics across

markets. They are likely to be high-growth companies,

backed by venture capitalists (VCs): adoption rate among

VC-backed SMEs is 38%. Adopters also tend to have a global

outlook: the adoption rate among SMEs with an international

customer base is 55%. There is also an emphasis on internet

sales, with nearly all FinTech adopters (96%) agreeing that

online and mobile sales channels are important to their

organization. FinTech adopters are also heavy users of

online payment processors and online billing and invoice

management solutions.

22 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Across our ve markets, SMEs choose FinTech solutions

because they provide a good range of functionality and

features, have services available around the clock, and

are easy to set up, congure and use. There are, however,

differences in priorities between markets. In Mexico, where

FinTech adopters are looking for alternative solutions to

traditional, branch-based banking, respondents identify

around-the-clock availability as the most important FinTech

characteristic. In China, by contrast, around-the-clock

availability isn’t a key driver, not because it isn’t important

but because adopters take it as a given. In a market saturated

with super apps, around-the-clock availability is a condition

of entry. For Chinese SME adopters, the number one driver

is “range of features and functionality.” In South Africa,

meanwhile, where SMEs face the complexities of doing

business in an emerging market, “compatibility with daily

operations and infrastructure” is among the top three drivers.

Notes: The gures show the percentage of adopters that chose each answer as one of their top three reasons for using a FinTech challenger instead

of an incumbent nancial services institution.

FIGURE 13 | Top reasons for using FinTech globally

Rates and fees

Trustintheprovider’s

teamandtheirreputation

Availabilityofservices

24hoursaday,7daysaweek

Compatibilitywithdaily

operationsandinfrastructure

Rangeoffunctionality

and features

Easeinsettingup,conguring

andusingtheservice

66%

39%

38%

31%

55%

53%

Finding2: SME adopters in all markets rank the range of

functionality and features as the top priority in selecting a

FinTech, followed by the availability of services 24 hours a

day, seven days a week.

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 23

Notes: The gures show the percentage of SMEs that have used at least one service in the respective category.

FIGURE 14 | Use of each category of FinTech services across ve markets

Totalaverage China Mexico

23%

31%

36%

49%

62%

89%

91%

92%

33%

46%

51%

56%

Finding3: 56% of respondents have used the banking and

payments category.

24 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

More than half (56%) of SMEs worldwide have used banking

and payments services, making it the most widely used

category, followed by nancial management, nancing and

insurance. We consider the rate of use per category as the

percentage of SMEs that have used at least one FinTech

service in that category in the past six months.

SMEs in emerging markets are particularly heavy users

of banking and payments services, with 63% using

services in that category. In China, the rate is 92%. These

high rates reect conditions characteristic of emerging

markets. Developed markets have long-established

nancial infrastructures, and FinTech challengers can offer

alternatives to products provided by incumbents. Emerging

markets, by contrast, have less sophisticated nancial

infrastructures, which creates opportunities for FinTech

challengers to build products and services from the ground up.

FinTechs in emerging markets can address the needs

of underserved customer segments, including SMEs, by

providing them with solutions for key areas of their business,

such as banking and payments. SMEs also tend to follow the

lead of their customers, many of whom are already signicant

users of FinTech services for everyday activities, by accepting

the consumers’ preferred payments methods.

These differences between emerging and developed markets

help explain the varying popularity of specic services across

the four categories. In developed markets, the most widely

used FinTech services are online bookkeeping and payroll

management tools, online billing tools, and online payment

processors. In emerging markets, the top services are online

payment processors, online billing and invoice management

tools, and mPOS machines and readers.

SouthAfrica UK USA

InsuranceFinancingBanking and payments Financial management

31%

24%

26%

34%

43%

47%

34%

37%

41% 41%

49%

52%

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 25

Notes: The gures show the percentage of respondents who either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with each statement, by FinTech adopters

and non-adopters.

FinTech challengers are joining SME-provider ecosystems

FIGURE 15 | Analysis of views on risk management, nancial needs, and use of technology, by FinTech adopters and

non-adopters

Whenfacingnew

regulation,my

organizationprefers

tondatechnological

solutionwherepossible

Adopters Non-adopters

Myorganizationhasput

insufcientplansinplace

toaddressnancialrisks

and market downturns

Thenancialproducts

andservicesavailabledo

notsufcientlymeetmy

organization’sneeds

Onthewhole,traditional

banksandinsurers

meet the needs of my

organization

Changingthe

technology or software

myorganizationusesis

verycostly

Myorganization

regularlyreviewsour

technologicaltools

and software to ensure

theyarestillthemost

suitableoptionsforus

63% 93%

61%

83%

82%

98%

70%

57%

79%

36%

29%

69%

Finding4: 93% of FinTech adopters prefer to nd a

technological solution where possible, including when they

face a new regulation.

As observed amongst consumers, SMEs are increasingly

joining FinTech ecosystems that integrate different nancial

services propositions offered by challengers, incumbent

nancial institutions, and, in some cases, non-nancial

services companies. Such ecosystems offer SMEs added

efciency and security through their interoperability and

ability to connect different business functions.

The SMEs most likely to use these services—the FinTech

adopters—are “technology-rst” organizations; they are

heavy users of technology to support a wide range of

operations. When confronted with a business challenge, such

as a change in regulations, they are more likely than non-

adopters to seek technological solutions. When facing new

regulations, 93% of adopters favor a technology solution,

compared with 70% of non-adopters.

26 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Adopters are more aware of the costs and benets of

technology. They take a more professional approach to

reviewing and updating it. Adopters are more likely to agree

that changing the technology in their organization is “very

costly,” but they understand the importance of regularly

renewing it. Nearly all SME adopters (98%) agree that their

company regularly reviews technological tools and software

to ensure that they are the most suitable options.

Adopters are also more cognizant of the nancial risks their

companies face—another sign of their professionalism and

preparedness. Nearly two-thirds of adopters (63%) say their

companies haven’t planned sufciently for nancial risks and

market downturns, compared with just 36% of non-adopters.

This exposure represents an opportunity for FinTechs that

can develop predictive tools that address specic SME needs—

such as software that forecasts cash ow and programs that

help rms hedge nancial and economic risks.

While 79% of SME adopters express satisfaction with the

services provided by traditional banks and insurers, that

doesn’t mean they’re getting everything they need. More

than half (57%) of adopters agree that the nancial products

services available don’t meet the needs of their organization.

While consumers can often nd one provider that offers a

wide range of nancial services, there is no comparable one-

stop-shop provider available to SMEs—no single entity that

offers services across all their needs. SMEs view incumbent

banks mainly as providers of current accounts, with related

services such as deposit-taking and processing transactions.

Increasingly, we see technology-driven FinTech platforms as

a unier across an SME’s internal business functions, which

also connects them to other vendors and marketplaces for

point solutions. These platforms will also encourage higher

SME FinTech adoption in the future, by increasing SME

awareness of other FinTech services, and enabling easier

onboarding journeys.

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 27

Nearly all SMEs (97%) acknowledge that they need help

when it comes to deciding whether to adopt a new service

or technology. However, FinTech adopters are more likely

than non-adopters to seek advice broadly—another sign

that adopters are better informed and operate like larger

organizations. We asked SMEs how many sources they would

consult, from zero to three. Seventy-one percent of adopters

said they would seek advice from three sources, compared

with 52% of non-adopters. Because adopters cast a wider net

when seeking advice, FinTech providers have the opportunity

to reach them through more touchpoints.

FinTech adopters turn most often to business advisors, such

as lawyers and accountants, for advice, while non-adopters

tend to rely more often on their professional network and

industry contacts. Adopters are more likely than non-

adopters to seek advice from government ofcials, although

the opposite holds in China, where government agencies

have focused less on advisory programs for SMEs. Across

geographies, non-adopters are more likely than adopters to

seek advice from websites and forums.

Finding5: When considering new services, adopters are

more likely to seek advice from multiple sources.

Notes: The gures show the percentage of respondents who indicated

they would seek advice from these sources when deciding whether

to adopt a new service or technology for their business, by FinTech

adopters and non-adopters. Respondents were able to select up to

three answers.

FIGURE 16 | Analysis of sources of advice used, by FinTech

adopters and non-adopters

Adopters Non-adopters

Onlinewebsites

and forums

Professionalnetwork

andindustrycontacts

Referrals

orrecommendations

fromcurrentvendors

andsuppliers

Businessadvisors

Closefriendsandfamily

Governmentofcialsand

afliatedorganizations

41%

24%

35%

22%

21%

31%

12%

57%

59%

50%

70%

56%

28 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Notes: The gures show the percentage respondents who either ‘agree’

or ‘strongly agree’ that they would be comfortable with their main

bank securely sharing their organization’s nancial data with other

organizations if it meant that they received better offers, by FinTech

adopters and non-adopters.

One of the key determinations SMEs need to make when

considering the use of a FinTech service is how willing they

are to share their data with a third party. Adopters are

very willing to share data—if they think they’re likely to get

something of value in return. Asked to what extent they

would be comfortable having their main bank securely share

their company’s nancial data with other organizations if

it meant they would receive better offers, 89% of adopters

said they would be willing to share with FinTech challengers,

compared with 50% of non-adopters.

The willingness of SMEs to share data

becomes an increasingly important

consideration in the growth of FinTech

ecosystems, where the value proposition

depends on interoperability and

participants’ willingness to port data

between organizations.

SMEs’ comfort and willingness differs across

markets, reecting at least in part the maturity and

prominence of the primary technology platforms in

each market to date. China in particular is a standout

market with several mature technology-driven

platform providers offering ecosystems integrating

both nancial and non-nancial services companies.

Many of the SMEs that already use these platforms

for a non-nancial service may become FinTech

adopters in the future, as the platforms grow and

expand across more providers.

FIGURE 17 | Analysis of preferences in sharing banking

data, by FinTech adopters and non-adopters

Finding6: 89% of FinTech adopters are more willing to share

data with FinTech companies.

Adopters Non-adopters

Othernancial

servicescompanies

49%

50%

28%

70%

63%

FinTechcompanies

Non-nancial

servicescompanies

89%

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 29

Our SME survey is based on 1,000 online

interviews with senior decision makers of SME

organizations between 15 and 30 January

2019. Senior decision makers were dened as

owners, managing directors, CEOs and other

c-level executives responsible for business

strategy, operations or nancial decisions.

We interviewed 200 organizations per market

in two developed countries (the UK and the US)

and three emerging countries (China, Mexico

and South Africa). Given the fact that the

respondents completed an online survey,

our analysis represents the views of digitally

active SMEs.

There is no global agreement on what constitutes an SME,

with criteria varying even from sector to sector in some

markets. Each of the ve countries we surveyed has a

different denition based on employee headcount and annual

revenues. For example, a medium-sized enterprise in China,

per government standards, has a headcount that can range

from 200 employees in the wholesale sector to 3,000 in the

construction sector, while in the UK, the headcount for SMEs

generally reaches a maximum of 250.

To accommodate these variances, we interviewed SMEs with

up to 1,000 employees in all ve markets. At the lower end

of the spectrum, we excluded micro-SMEs, e.g., solo traders

or rms with fewer than 10 employees, since we believe

these small enterprises behave differently—and have different

needs—than their larger counterparts. We also set a cap of

US$75 million in annual revenues.

Our survey struck a balance across sectors, with 37%

of respondents from industries such as manufacturing,

mining and agriculture; 52% from services such as

transportation, healthcare and technology; and 12%

from other industries. Among all the SMEs we surveyed,

63% were backed by venture capitalists, meaning we have

a sizeable representation of high-growth companies. We

also have an estimated +/- 3.5% margin of error, with a

90% condence interval.

We grouped FinTech services into four broad categories:

banking and payments, nancial management, nancing, and

insurance. We looked at FinTech services specically used by

SMEs, such as mPOS machines and invoice nance solutions,

which can differ from those used by consumers.

Methodology

30 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

FIGURE 18 | List of SME FinTech services

Banking and payments

Online foreign exchange

Digital-only branchless business bank

Online payments processors

Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) payment machines and readers

Financial management

Online billing and invoice management tools

Online cashow and liquidity management tools

Online bookkeeping and payroll tools

Financing

Online lending platforms

Online marketplaces, aggregators and brokers

Online equity (including equity crowdfunding) and debt securities

Online invoice nancing and dynamic discounting

Insurance Insurance premium comparison sites

ServicesCatergories

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 31

Much of this report has focused on

understanding the behaviors and attitudes of

FinTech users, both consumers and SMEs. To

fully tell the story, we need to go beyond the

data and interview some of the companies that

offer FinTech services. The high adoption rate

of FinTech around the globe presents these

companies with myriad opportunities to expand

internationally. Indeed, many have already

succeeded in scaling their businesses across

multiple international markets.

Building on our 2017 report, which focused on how FinTech

challengers could achieve traction with customers and

gain share in their home markets, we spoke this year to 10

companies about their plans for international expansion.

Included in our sample are FinTech challengers, incumbent

nancial institutions and cross-sector technology companies.

Our interviews highlight key attributes of successful

international expansion, such as encouraging customer

engagement and delivering value in different markets,

building and professionalizing operations, creating and

maintaining a cohesive company culture across various

geographies, and assembling complex, multi-party ecosystems.

The following quotes are drawn from separate interviews with

each company, which we’ve subsequently condensed and

aggregated by theme.

From the innovator’s mouth

Chapter 3

FIGURE 19 | Selection of key words from the interviews with FinTechs

32 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Introducing the FinTechs

 AdrianGore

CEO, Discovery

HQ: South Africa

Current traction: 18 million customers

Established in 1992, Discovery operates in 19 markets,

including Australia, Canada, China, Malaysia, Pakistan,

Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, the United

Kingdom and the United States. Discovery is an insurance

company whose purpose and ambition are achieved through

a pioneering business model that incentivizes people to be

healthier and enhances and protects their lives. The Vitality

wellness programme forms the foundation of Discovery’s

shared-value insurance model, which in turn delivers better

health and value for clients, superior actuarial dynamics for

the insurer, and a healthier society.

 FrankJanRisseeuw

CEO, Yolt

HQ: The Netherlands

Launched in 2017 with backing from ING, Yolt is currently

available to 500,000 registered users in the UK, Italy and

France, giving everyone the power to be smart with their

money. Built on the promise of Open Banking and PSD2,

users can view their accounts and cards, transfer money

and nd better deals in one clear app. An expanding

pan-European money platform, Yolt innovates through

partnership connections, smarter analytics and collaboration.

 AlesiaHaas

CFO, Coinbase

HQ: United States

Current traction: 30 million customers

Coinbase was founded in 2012 and has built a trusted

platform to access the cryptoeconomy. Coinbase is currently

active in over 50 countries, such as Singapore, Australia,

Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, The Netherlands, the UK,

Canada and the US. We offer an entire suite of products that

make accessing cryptocurrencies easy and secure, as well

as a range of tools that operate at the frontiers of crypto

and blockchain. The Coinbase mission is to create an open

nancial system for the world. We think an open nancial

system can be a great equalizer and serve the unbanked

population, while accelerating the pace of innovation around

the world.

 HaritTalwar

Global Head of Consumer Digital Finance,

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

HQ: United States

Current traction: 3 million customers

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

is the global consumer business

created by Goldman Sachs to disrupt the distribution and

consumption of consumer nancial services. Marcus is a

start-up with 150 years of nancial expertise behind it and

a vision is to build an integrated digital storefront for tens

of millions of consumers to take control of their nancial

lives. Today, Marcus offers proprietary products including

a free personal nancial management app, no-fee personal

loans, high-yield savings accounts and certicates of deposit.

Beyond the products currently offered, an important element

of the Marcus business is strategic partnerships. Marcus will

continue to explore personalized products to save, borrow

and spend that are simple, transparent and always on the

side of the customer.

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 33

Paul Chapman

Chief Executive & Founder, Moneytree KK

HQ: Japan

Current traction: 3 million customers

Launched in 2013, Moneytree is the utility layer for

connecting to nancial services in Japan and Australia. By

partnering with nancial institutions and FinTechs alike,

Moneytree is building a trust-based ecosystem that leverages

Open Banking for consumers and businesses. We make it

simple for people to get a real-time view of all their nancial

data, and ultimately help people make real nancial progress,

without compromising on their privacy.

 PrajitNanu

Co-founder & CEO, InstaReM

HQ: Singapore

Current traction: 180,000 customers

InstaReM was launched in 2015 and is a digital cross-border

payments company with presence across Asia-Pacic, North

America and Europe, in over 35 markets. InstaReM offers

innovative solutions to send, spend and collect money in

fast, convenient and cost-effective ways in multiple markets

to its customers who include expatriates having moved

overseas to support families back in their home countries,

and businesses that make regular payments to their overseas

associates. It serves payments companies, marketplaces,

the travel segment and large corporates, and also powers

cross-border payments for several large banks in South East

Asia. InstaReM’s mission remains to democratize money

movements across the globe with innovative products that

provide individual and enterprise users with seamless digital

payments experiences.

34 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

 StevePolsky

Founder & CEO, Juvo

HQ: United States

Current traction: 100 million customers

Juvo was launched in 2014 and is currently active in 24

countries across Latin America, South America, Eastern

Europe and Southeast Asia. Juvo is a pioneer in mobile

identity scoring for nancial access. The company was

founded with an overarching mission: to create the YES

economy. They do that by establishing nancial identities

for the billions of people worldwide who are creditworthy,

yet nancially excluded. The founder Steve Polsky rst

conceived of the company after realizing the vast potential to

reach previously underserved populations across the globe,

through their mobile phone. Juvo does this by partnering

with mobile operators, providing mobile users access to credit

and nancial services via everyday interactions.

 ReubenLai

Senior Managing Director, Grab Financial Group

HQ: Singapore

Current traction: 144 million customers

Launched in 2018, Grab Financial Group is present in

Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand

and Vietnam. Their mission is to bring nancial inclusion to

Southeast Asia’s growing base of middle class consumers.

To continue their momentum and success from their original

ride-hailing business, they are building within the Grab app

an ‘ASEAN Wallet’ which gives users access to any nancial

service, goods or services everywhere in Southeast Asia.

Serving both consumers and merchants in Southeast Asia,

Grab Financial Group aims to become both one of the

region’s largest merchant networks with the largest

insurtech policy provider and the biggest FinTech lender

all within one platform.

 SamirDesai

Co-founder & CEO, Funding Circle

HQ: United Kingdom

Current traction: 158,000 customers

Funding Circle was founded in 2010, in direct response to

the nancial crisis, when banks pulled back from lending over

the years. It has become evident that small businesses are

underserved in every country we operate in and beyond our

current footprint. Small businesses are powering economic

growth and job creation across the world, which is why we’ve

made it our mission to help them achieve more and go even

further. Funding Circle’s platform enables investors to lend to

small businesses, and currently operates in the UK, the US,

Germany and the Netherlands, serving 68,000 businesses

and 90,000 investors. From butchers and bakers to IT

consultants and accountants, these are the businesses that

are made to do more and supporting them is a mission that

continues to inspire us every day.

 ShengqiangChen

CEO, JD Digits

HQ: China

Current traction: 400 million customers

JD Digits started in 2013, as an extension to the JD.com

e-commerce business to provide their customers and

businesses with a convenient way to access nancial

services. JD Digits became one of China’s leading nancial

technology for enterprises and consumers with a broad

range of innovative products, including supply chain

nance, consumer nance, crowd funding and cloud

services. JD Digits is currently present in China (mainland),

Hong Kong and Thailand, with a mission to foster FinTech

innovation, promote nancial inclusion, and enhance

customer experience.

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 35

Adrian

“ Vitality‘s behavioral platform measures engagement

clinically and actuarially, enabling the dynamic pricing of

various risks, which allows us to price clients individually

at inception. In life insurance, this means that clients’

premiums increase or decrease based on their Vitality

engagement. In this way, our model continues to drive

shared value: it improves risk behavior and value for clients,

delivers actuarial dynamics for the insurer, and promotes a

healthier society at large.”

Frank Jan

“ From the very beginning, Yolt has worked closely with our

community of vocal users to make sure we’re constantly

monitoring and closing the loop between their feedback

and the features in our roadmap. Our innovation is driven

by meeting our users’ needs, day to day. For example, most

users have regular outgoings for bills and housing, so we

developed features centered around upcoming debits,

predicted outgoings, and energy and gas comparison.

Analyzing user transactions, we developed more spending

categories and our customizable tagging feature. We engage

with our users across all touch points and channels, from

regular in-person events to user testing, surveys, and more.

This is an approach that we champion across all markets.”

What strategies have you used to drive customer engagement in both

initial and international markets? How do you deliver value to your

customers? What lessons did you carry over from the initial market?

Questions and answers

Paul

“ Key lessons learned as Moneytree expanded: rst, the

importance of trust, privacy, consistent and authentic

messaging to individuals, businesses and large enterprise

clients; second, the importance of providing a high

quality and reliable service; and third, the importance

of communicating the benets of access to customer

data, as well as the need for solid privacy, security and

data governance.”

Prajit

“ We connect with our target customers by creating

awareness via conventional channels like print, online

and afliate partnerships. I feel personal referrals are

an extremely powerful way to gain traction with target

customers. InstaReM focuses on great customer experience,

which, in turn, helps bring enhance referral trafc on our

platform. We are receiving strong referral trafc in most of

the markets that we are operating in. For us, a high level

of referral trafc is indicative of the fact that the users are

getting what they are expecting from our service.”

36 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Reuben

“ Grab is a company built by Southeast Asians for Southeast

Asia. We have strong local leaders and experts in every

country we operate in and are trusted by local consumers.

This local market advantage allows Grab to continue building

products that the region’s emerging middle-class consumers

will actually use. One example is the service that allows

Grab’s millions of ride-hailing drivers to also serve as mobile

ATMs, allowing consumers in heavily unbanked countries

like the Philippines and Indonesia to top-up their GrabPay

wallets simply by handing cash to their driver.”

Shengqiang

“ We learned that offering standardized services to a

heterogeneous customer base with unique tastes and

preferences impedes the growth of the consumer’s

ever-changing investment and consumption habits.

JD Digits optimizes the user experience by utilizing

data and technology for exible nancing solutions,

innovative eWallet services, and alternative credit scoring.

Technological innovation in AI and blockchain in the logistics

and supply chain nancing business helped merchants

reduce production lead times, increase product speed

to market, minimize costs, and improved use of data for

integration from merchants and vendors to our platform.“

Steve

“ The Juvo platform was an entirely new concept for

populations who had largely been ignored by traditional

nancial services, but it was quickly adopted by mobile

subscribers as they could start with small airtime credit

extensions on their mobile service and subsequently walk up

the ladder to bigger and better nancial opportunities. What

starts as a simple top up can quickly advance toward access

to things such as smartphone nancing, insurance or even

small business loans.”

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 37

Alesia

“ As a regulated and trusted exchange operator, Coinbase’s

continued compliance with local regulations is a critical

element of our ongoing success. As we scale to new markets

and serve even more customers, it’s our goal to build the

same level of trust in every new region we enter as we have

built in the U.S. and Europe. We work hand-in-hand with local

regulators to not only ensure our compliance laws, but also

to share our experience at the vanguard of crypto.”

Paul

“ At the time we entered the Australian market, the discussion

around Open Banking was quickly gaining momentum. We

made it a priority to contribute to its formation, and to

become one of the rst FinTechs to identify and leverage

new opportunities Open Banking makes possible. By

submitting feedback directly to the Australian Government

enquiry, informed by our experience in establishing Open

Banking in Japan, we were able to contribute to the local

Australian ecosystem. This also established Moneytree as

a knowledgeable and collaborative industry participant in

the local context. Our early regulatory outreach led

to Moneytree being invited to join the Data Standards

Advisory Committee, where we continue to contribute

to the establishment of Open Banking in Australia.”

What were the key drivers in deciding where to expand? How did you fund

and implement your international expansion plan? What role did regulation

play in your international expansion journey?

Prajit

“ We developed our rst money transfer platform with seed

funding in January 2015. In March 2016, we raised the

Series A round of funding, which helped us build the basic

infrastructure and payment mesh, and partner with a

network of banks. This was followed by the Series B funding

in July 2017, which was used for augmenting our global

payment infrastructure, as well as developing new products

and acquiring licenses in new markets like Malaysia, India,

EU and the US. This funding was also used in boosting our

employee strength. We acquired new talent in areas such

as technology, marketing, customer service and compliance

across all markets. In April 2019, we closed our Series C

round, proceeds of which are being utilized to accelerate

growth in existing and new markets, and support the launch

of new products, including a card-issuing platform.”

38 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Samir

“ Being a global business has been our objective since day

one; it’s paramount to our success and long-term vision.

Funding Circle launched in the US following the acquisition

of a company who were using similar models to improve

business lending in the States. Two years later, we followed

a similar acquisition route to expand into Germany and

the Netherlands. We also recently announced our plans to

enter Canada organically later this year to help underserved

Canadian small businesses to access the nance they need

to grow. There are many areas to consider when scoping

and researching new geographies. From demand for small

business borrowing and investor sentiment, to credit data

availability and operational complexity. When it comes to

implementing our model, we’re able to leverage learnings

from our established geographies which allows us to scale

up new markets as smoothly and efciently as possible.

This includes using our prior experience in building credit

assessment models and our understanding of how to

navigate new regulatory systems.”

Steve

“ From day one Juvo has been a global company that just

happens to be founded and headquartered in San Francisco.

To turn our vision into reality we’ve had to ‘sh where the

sh are.’ This meant launching the company outside of the

U.S. To succeed in those early days in Guatemala, and in

other markets where we’ve since launched in, we’ve had

to understand the unique nuances of the very different

populations we serve. This entailed methodically starting

small, learning about our consumers and then growing

strategically. We have realized signicant success by

addressing big needs in small markets and growing with

our partners.”

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 39

Harit

“ To reinvent consumer nances, and to build a company

that is entirely on the side of consumers, we knew from

the outset that we would need to build a talented and

diverse team. Since our founding in 2016, we have

aimed to assemble a creative powerhouse of disruptive

innovation. One third of our team is hand-picked from

Goldman Sachs, another third is from traditional consumer

nance companies, and one third is from a range of non-

nancial industry leaders across technology, e-commerce

and consumer goods. Unifying this varied employee base

is paramount to our singular mission: To help consumers

achieve greater nancial well-being. Whether through

personal loans that reduce high interest debt, savings

accounts that provide more value, or personal nancial

management tools that help consumers take control of their

personal nances, every Marcus team member is personally

committed to serving this larger purpose.”

What role does your company culture play in achieving customer traction

and scaling internationally? How did you leverage your brand and existing

operations to expand into new markets?

Frank Jan

“ A venture of ING Bank, Yolt was designed with both the

innovation and agility of a start-up and the security and

strength of a bank. Yolt has created all our systems,

products and developments in-house from scratch and has

our own autonomy and brand identity. We pride ourselves on

working agile to deliver a customer-app that our community

loves. We’re also an international team. In Amsterdam,

we have several feature teams, working end-to-end on

delivering new and updating existing features. Our central

marketing team is based in London and oversees all markets,

with on the ground support in France and Italy, ensuring we

maintain cultural relevance.”

Samir

“ We draw on the impressive talent we have across the

business. Culture is a critical component of our success

and our core values are focused on encouraging employee

engagement, ambition, teamwork and passion. The more

Funding Circle expands internationally, the harder this

becomes. To combat this, we utilize talent in our established

markets to help grow and nurture new teams in other

countries. Not only does this help to retain our unique

culture, but it also opens up great opportunities for people

to develop their careers.”

40 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

Adrian

“ With the aim of growing the reach of the shared-value

insurance model around the globe, Discovery established

Vitality Group, which integrates tailored Vitality programmes

with partner insurance products to drive additional value

in areas our partner insurers have identied. Vitality Group

is supported by the Global Vitality Network to create an

ecosystem where the assets are available to all markets, and

the value generated from positive selection and behavior

change is shared among the participants.”

Alesia

“ From the start, Coinbase’s mission has been to create an

open nancial system for the world by being the easiest

and most trusted place to buy, sell, and interact with the

cryptoeconomy. We are aiming to build the infrastructure

between traditional nance and the cryptoeconomy. Our

mission is inherently global. We see Coinbase’s growth as

validation that the ecosystem will only continue to grow in

size, inuence and impact — ultimately ushering in a more

open nancial system for the world.”

To facilitate your international expansion journey, did you tap into

ecosystems of partners, customers, and suppliers? What role do you see

your company playing in these multi-party nancial ecosystems?

Reuben

“ Grab uses a single smartphone app to offer a range of

nancial and consumer service products to support

unconnected individuals and small businesses. GrabPay is

the rst mobile wallet with e-money licenses across the six

largest economies in Southeast Asia. Grab Financial Services

offers insurance and microloans, enabling unbanked

consumers in emerging markets to secure the capital

needed to grow their businesses, buy a home for their

families, and pay for their children’s school fees or medical

bills. Grab Financial is beating the heavily fragmented

and cash-based nature of the region by building an open

ecosystem which today comprises over 100 local and

international nancial institutions.”

Shengqiang

“ FinTech, technology and data are central to the JD Digits’

vision of the Digital Economy Ecosystem. Our expansion into

international markets began in 2018 with strategic local

partners in Hong Kong and Thailand. We believe in organic

growth, which means essentially taking a holistic approach

with partnerships that understand local cultures and

nuances. We aim to create a secure digital ecosystem with

a focus on providing customers with exible solutions

anytime and anywhere to complement their everyday lives.”

Interviewed between March 3 – April 8 2019.

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 41

FinTechAdoptionIndexteam

For further information, please contact EY’s global FinTech team.

Contacts

GlobalFinTechleadershipteamand

FinTechAdoptionIndexsteeringcommittee

Matt Hatch

Ernst & Young LLP

Americas FinTech Leader

San Francisco

matthew.hatch@ey.com

ChristopherSchmitz

Ernst & Young LLP

EMEIA FinTech Leader

Frankfurt

christopher.schmitz@de.ey.com

Sharon Chen

Ernst & Young LLP

FinTech Adoption Index Lead Author

London

schen@uk.ey.com

DoinaChiselita

Ernst & Young LLP

FinTech Adoption Index Co-author

London

dchiselita@uk.ey.com

James Lloyd

Ernst & Young Transactions Ltd

Asia-Pacic FinTech Leader

Hong Kong SAR of China

james.lloyd@hk.ey.com

VarunMittal

Ernst & Young LLP

Global Emerging Markets and ASEAN FinTech Leader

Singapore

varun.mittal@sg.ey.com

TomBull

Ernst & Young LLP

UK FinTech Leader and FinTech Adoption Index Leader

London

[email protected]y.com

42 Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019

GlobalFinTechnetwork

Argentina

JuanPabloGrisolia

juan-pablo.grisolia@ar.ey.com

Australia

MeredithAngwin

Meredith.Angwin@au.ey.com

Belgium

YannickGrécourt

yannick.grec[email protected]y.com

Brazil

ChenWeichi

chen.weichi@br.ey.com

Canada

Ron Stokes

ron.k.stokes@ca.ey.com

Chile

Mauricio Martínez Gutierrez

mauricio.martinez@cl.ey.com

China

Henry B Zheng

henry-b.zheng@cn.ey.com

Colombia

Juan Taboada

juan.taboada@co.ey.com

France

Thierry Groues

thierry.groues@fr.ey.com

Germany

Christopher Schmitz

christopher.schmitz@de.ey.com

Hong Kong SAR of China

James Lloyd

james.lloyd@hk.ey.com

India

Mahesh Makhija

mahesh.makhija@in.ey.com

Ireland

Niall Corrigan

niall.corrigan@ie.ey.com

Italy

Carlo Alberto Minasi

carlo.alberto.minasi@it.ey.com

Japan

Chikara Adachi

chikar[email protected]y.com

LATAM

Rocio Velazco-Rotem

rocio.velazcorotem@ey.com

Luxembourg

Gaël Denis

gael.denis@lu.ey.com

Mexico

Gustavo Jurado

gustavo.jurado@mx.ey.com

Netherlands

Lisette Ens

lisette.[email protected].com

Peru

Alejandro Carranza

alejandro.carranza@pe.ey.com

Russia

Aleksey K Rybnikov

aleksey.rybniko[email protected]y.com

Singapore

Varun Mittal

varun.mittal@sg.ey.com

South Africa

Ashwin Goolab

ashwin.goolab@za.ey.com

South Korea

Young-Suk Kim

young-suk.kim@kr.ey.com

Spain

Luis Manuel Saiz Gutierrez

luismanuel.saizgutierrez@es.ey.com

Sweden

Carl Rudin

carl.rudin@se.ey.com

Switzerland

David Bufka

david.bufk[email protected]y.com

Tom Bull

[email protected]y.com

USA

Matt Hatch

matthew.hatch@ey.com

Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 43

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