Southeast Asia is on the brink of a rapid expansion in open banking, with financial institutions leveraging open banking to enhance customer experiences, and fintech companies utilizing application programming interfaces (APIs) to revolutionising payments, lending, and more.
A new report by Twimbit, a Singapore-based research and advisory firm, highlights the state of open finance in Southeast Asia, exploring the different factors such as regional integration, technological innovation, evolving business models, and API monetization that are fueling the growth of the sector.
Open finance adoption in Southeast Asia
The Twimbit report, reveals that adoption levels of open finance vary significantly across Southeast Asia.
Singapore currently stands as the regional leader, or “Champion”, with exemplary ratings in market maturity and government initiatives. The country also demonstrates strong infrastructure readiness, excelling in metrics such as Internet usage, smartphone penetration and 5G rollout.

Following Singapore are Malaysia and Indonesia, deemed as “Enthusiasts” for their high levels of market maturity, though regulatory initiatives remain a nascent stage.
Thailand and the Philippines are categorized as “Intermediaries”, reflecting moderate progress in regulatory initiatives and market maturity.
Despite the ranking, Thailand leads the region in e-wallet adoption, boasting 116.5 million users and surpassing Singapore’s 5.23 million users, as well as Vietnam and the Philippines, each with 58 million users.
Finally, Vietnam lags behind as the region’s “Crawler”, showcasing regulatory efforts still in infancy and market maturity yet to be fully achieved.

Drivers of open finance growth
According to the report, open finance in Southeast Asia is being propelled by several drivers.
Regional integration is playing a key role, with governments accelerating their efforts to enhance cross-border commerce and digital economy participation.
Initiatives such as ASEAN payment connectivity between Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, are enhancing economic integration and fostering regional trade by linking real-time payment systems.
Similarly, Project Nexus, spearheaded by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), aims to improve cross-border payment systems through faster, cheaper, and more transparent transactions. The initiative seeks to establish multilateral linkages of national retail payment systems.
Technological advancements are another driver of open finance in Southeast Asia. In particular, cloud computing is becoming increasingly prevalent, with 60% of banks in Singapore migrating their core systems to the cloud. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also gaining traction, particularly for risk assessment and operational efficiency.
Additionally, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are now a key trend, with initiatives such as Project Orchid in Singapore, the Digital Rupiah in Indonesia, and a retail CBDC project being piloted in Thailand.
Another driver of open finance in Southeast Asia is the emergence of innovative business models. These include embedded finance, a market that’s projected to reach US$7.85 billion in Southeast Asia by 2029, and banking-as-a-service (BaaS), which is witnessing a year-on-year adoption increase of 40%. Super-apps are also transforming the financial services landscape, with up to 60% of their users engaging with financial products directly within these platforms.
Finally, the fourth and last driver outlined in the report is the rise of the API economy. APIs have become critical in modern software development and integration, with 90% of developers utilizing them. APIs now account for approximately 75% of global Internet traffic, underscoring their central role in enabling seamless connectivity between systems.
Differing approaches to open finance
Southeast Asian countries have adopted varied approaches to open finance. Economies such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam have embraced market-driven approaches. These countries don’t require banks to share data with third-party providers. Instead, open finance development is being driven by market forces, including consumer demand, fintech innovation, and competitive pressures among financial institutions.
In Singapore, the central bank has established API standards, publishing in 2016 the Finance-as-a-Service API Playbook to provide comprehensive guidelines on API governance, implementation, use cases, and over 400 recommended APIs for banks.
This was followed in 2018 with the launch of the API Exchange, the world’s first cross-border, open architecture platform, and in 2020 with the implementation of the Singapore Financial Data Exchange (SGFinDex) to further drive adoption.
Malaysia has also made strides, publishing in 2019 a policy document titled Publishing Open Data using open API. The document outlines standards that financial institutions intending to publish open data APIs should follow.
Vietnam, though still lacking a legal framework for open banking, has seen progress through initiatives by individual banks. For example, Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank launched its API portal platform in late 2019, offering over 30 API; VietinBank has introduced the VietinBank iConnect platform with over 127 APIs, collaborating with 73 partners; and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam has completed a payment portal to connect with nearly 2,000 retail service providers and payment intermediaries.
In contrast, the Philippines has adopted a regulatory-mandated approach. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) established the Open Finance Framework in June 2021, marking a significant step toward integrating open finance principles within the country’s financial ecosystem. To facilitate the implementation of this framework, the BSP established in 2022 the Open Finance Oversight Committee Transition Group, serving as an interim, industry-led governing entity.
The BSP has also unveiled a three-year strategic road map, defining key priority actions to foster the development of open finance in the country. The road map delineates a structured approach to expanding open finance services, enhancing collaboration among financial institutions, and fostering innovation in financial services.

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