Mapping the companies taking banking digital in SEA

Graphic by Boston Consulting Group and Foxmont Capital Partners

The brick-and-mortar bank is dead – long live the digital bank!

All right, so physical banks may be dying rather than dead, but digital banks are very much alive and on the rise.

As this map from the Philippine Venture Capital Report 2023 by Boston Consulting Group and Foxmont Capital Partners shows, Southeast Asia is fertile ground for the banks of the future.

See also: Is Vietnam late to Southeast Asia’s digital banking party?

The World Economic Forum estimates that more than 60% of the region’s population are unbanked or underbanked. No wonder digital banking is attractive to consumers and companies.

With digital banking still a nascent sector in most of Southeast Asia, these early entrants have big ambitions. The Philippines’ Tonik Digital Bank, for instance, was founded just two years ago in March 2021, yet it aims to hit profitability this year.

Some of the region’s biggest companies are getting involved too: Sea Group’s Maribank in Singapore is one example. Grab has also been scouting for engineers in Malaysia for its digital banking efforts.