Once defined by cash economies and underbanked populations, Asia Pacific is now home to some of the most inclusive digital finance systems on earth. Mobile wallets, virtual cards and real-time rails are turning financial access into everyday reality. Minh Ha Truong, Head of Growth, APAC, at Paymentology, unpacks how regulation, technology, and inclusion are rewriting the region’s financial framework.
Digital payments have become everyday practice, from emerging economies to developed markets. For example, in the Philippines, digital payments accounted for nearly 60% of retail transaction volume in 2024, surpassing the central bank’s targets. While, Thailand’s consumers have also eagerly embraced cashless modes, over 94% of Thais have used digital payment systems, with mobile wallets being the most popular form. The country’s PromptPay instant transfer network, once used mainly for big transfers, is now ubiquitous even for buying street food, processing around 50 million transactions a day by 2025.
Regulation as a fintech accelerator.
Forward-looking policy has been key; regulators here act as enablers rather than referees. Unlike regions where regulators play catch-up, authorities here often act as enablers. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) set ambitious goals (such as 70% of adults financially included) and backed them up with action, from new digital banking licences to a national QR payments standard. In just the past two years, the BSP licensed six digital banks, sparking competition to serve the unbanked.
One newcomer, GoTyme Bank, amassed 5 million customers by mid-2024 with its hybrid “phygital” model of online banking and in-store onboarding kiosks. Thailand’s government has been equally proactive: having built a real-time payments backbone early with PromptPay, regulators are now opening the gates to virtual banks. In 2025, the Bank of Thailand approved the country’s first three virtual bank licences, awarded to consortia of banks, telcos and fintechs.
Meanwhile, Australia pioneered an open banking regime under its Consumer Data Right, giving consumers control of their data. This open-data policy is world-leading, over four billion data-sharing requests have been made as of 2025 and is now expanding beyond banking to industries like energy and telecoms. Australian regulators are also moving to ensure innovation doesn’t outrun consumer protection: for example, new rules will bring buy-now-pay-later under credit checks and responsible lending requirements from 2025.
From inclusion to innovation.
Fintech’s biggest impact? Widening financial access. And that’s something we see first-hand. In the Philippines, where a large portion of the population was historically unbanked, mobile wallets and digital banks are bridging the gap. GCash, the country’s leading mobile wallet, now serves over 81 million users as of 2025, offering everything from basic payments to savings and micro-loans via a few taps. Digital finance is bringing millions of “unbanked” Filipinos into the system for the first time, helping the country raise account ownership to around 65% of adults.
Thailand presents a different story: traditional bank account penetration is high, yet fintech is expanding what access means. The new virtual banks slated to launch are expected to focus on segments that incumbents under-served; think gig workers, rural small businesses, and younger consumers looking for their first credit.
Even in affluent Australia, inclusion is a theme: fintech challengers (from neobanks to non-bank lenders) are targeting niche needs and pushing incumbents to improve customer experience. For example, niche digital banks have catered to underserved small businesses with faster loan approvals, while major banks themselves have adopted fintech-like apps for budgeting and personal finance. We’re seeing financial inclusion evolve from access to empowerment, giving consumers real tools to manage, plan, and grow their money.
Cards and credit get a reboot.
A notable trend across Asia Pacific is the reinvention of card and credit products. Fintech players are launching new card offerings at a rapid rate – often aimed at those who never had a “traditional” credit card.
In Southeast Asia, a common strategy is linking e-wallets to physical or virtual cards. In Thailand, for instance, the TrueMoney wallet’s users can obtain a Mastercard-powered prepaid card (virtual or plastic) in minutes, allowing them to pay online or in stores that accept cards. This effectively extends the reach of a mobile wallet to millions of merchants globally, bridging wallet balances with the vast card payment network.
In the Philippines, digital banks and wallets issue affordable prepaid debit cards, giving first-time customers a sense of security and universal acceptance for their money. On the credit side, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has surged across the region as an alternative to traditional credit cards. Roughly one in four Filipinos (28.4 million) had used BNPL services by the end of 2024, catapulting the country to one of the world’s highest adoption rates. Australia leads BNPL adoption too; about 30% of internet users have used BNPL, and Afterpay alone counts 3.5 million active users.
What’s next
- More digital-first banks: Millions more consumers will gain access as new virtual banks launch and digital-only offshoots of incumbents expand.
- Connected cross-border payments: Regulators are linking systems across borders – Thailand’s PromptPay and regional real-time corridors promise instant, low-cost remittances.
- Cards as the on-ramp: Prepaid and debit cards linked to apps will keep bridging cash users into cashless commerce. From numberless cards to multi-currency travel cards, issuers will keep adapting the humble card for modern needs.
- AI-driven credit and fraud prevention: Fintechs and banks will use AI and alternative data for smarter underwriting and fraud detection.
- Open finance gains speed: Australia’s Consumer Data Right is expanding into open finance, and others may follow.
As these shifts accelerate, one thing is clear: inclusion and innovation are converging. At Paymentology, we believe that when partnership meets purpose, innovation becomes inclusion. That’s what makes Asia Pacific one of the most exciting fintech frontiers in 2025.
