Big banks rule over Thai fintech

IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• Thailand’s big bank-powered fintech scene
• Fintech opportunities abound in India

Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every fortnight via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. Get it in your email inbox by registering here.

Hello,

In the Philippines, where I live, the most widely used payments app – GCash – is owned by telecom major Globe.

Having a large corporate backer certainly played a part in its ascent: GCash was able to tap into Globe’s wide subscriber base. However, rival telco PLDT was the first to do this, leveraging its reach with Smart Money – which eventually evolved to its own payments app, Maya.

In Thailand, a similar proxy war is playing out among the country’s large banks and conglomerates.

In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Elyssa notes how a majority of fintech companies in the country are backed, if not owned, by big banks and conglomerates.

While having the right backers fast-tracks growth, it raises the bar for independent fintech companies looking to compete.

Meanwhile, in this edition’s Hot Take, I look at India’s fintech opportunity and how it compares with Southeast Asia.

To end off, do note that this will be the last edition of The Top Up as we pause it for the time being to focus our attention on other newsletters.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading The Top Up as much as we have curating it and giving our fortnightly commentary. Until next time!

— Miguel

THE BIG STORY

Big banks, conglomerates rule over Thailand’s fintech map

THE HOT TAKE