Fintech partnerships are a critical part of APAC banks’ strategies with 87% of them planning to connect with an average of four fintechs in the next 12-18 months, according to a research by Finastra, a financial services software and cloud solutions provider.

This is higher than any other region globally as digital transformation remains a priority.

The research, conducted by East & Partners, finds that the core motivations for this is to reduce operational costs (43%), deploy new technology with greater ease (47%), and leverage technology expertise not available in-house (52%).

The report found that banks are using fintechs to enhance the customer experience as they prioritising online portals / banking channels (52%) and create transparency across processes.

This includes providing the customer with real-time updates on onboarding progress (50%) and improving end-to-end connectivity and value-add services (45%).

Digital transformation remains a priority for APAC institutions, having invested an average of US$293.2 million in transformation in 2023.

However, this is behind the global average of US$367.6 million and substantially less than European banks, which are investing an average of US$886 million.

The research was conducted amongst 783 interviewees at 260 banks in Asia Pacific (Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan), the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, as well as 393 interviews with North American community markets banks and financial institutions.

“Our survey demonstrates the recognition from banks that they cannot navigate these waters alone.

 

They are instead opting to partner with fintechs, with a preference for plugging into a platform of integrated fintech solutions, to help them to adapt quickly while reducing costs.”

said Isabel Fernandez, EVP Lending at Finastra.

“Major inflection points in recent years have had, and are still having, a dramatic impact on how financial services is evolving.

 

This is forcing institutions to reconsider how they manage risk, increase their agility, and fast-track innovation to evolve with new demands. We partnered with Finastra to better understand and showcase how banks are adapting to this environment.”

said Martin Smith, Global Head of Markets Analysis at East & Partner.