Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every Wednesday 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.
Hi there,
As we head into the last week of 2022, we’ve rounded up some of our most popular fintech stories this year for you.
This year, we saw, after some delays, the launch of digital banks in Singapore, and then in Malaysia, where some of the winners surprised investment bankers. In Indonesia, Bank Jago had much to cheer after having its first profitable year since 2015.
Startups offering earned-wage access as well as mortgage fintech came on our radar this year. We also continued tracking the buy now, pay later (BNPL) trend that’s coming under pressure as the economy sours and interest rates climb. (You can scroll down for the full list.)
While the fintech industry has made strides in advancing financial inclusion, there is still a long way to go in weeding out bad actors.
In this week’s Hot Take, Putra looks into the Wild West of illegal online lending in Indonesia, where “jockeys” have recently surfaced. Although they claim to be helping indebted consumers avoid the cutthroat debt collection tactics of many moneylenders, their practices remain questionable.
That wraps up our last edition of The Top Up for 2022. Thanks for all your support in the past year! This newsletter will return on January 11 – we look forward to bringing you more hard-hitting content in 2023.
Till then, I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Signing off for 2022,
Melissa
THE HOT TAKE
The ‘jockeys’ traversing Indonesia’s fintech wilderness
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Indonesia’s fintech space can seem glitzy on the surface, but underneath the veneer of all that, the sector can be a jungle. There are not only typical corporate failings, but also deeper issues, like borrowers who find themselves in a debt spiral or the gray areas surrounding digital lending licensing.
More recently, a “mini-industry” has sprouted in the shadows: the so-called online lending “jockeys.”
2022’s top 10
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