Fintech will transform South-east Asian microfinance

Significance

This has put immense strain on these organisations, as well as exposing more borrowers to debt. Meanwhile, the region’s MFIs are coming under growing pressure to embrace new ways of operating in line with rapid advances in fintech such as those involving blockchain, process automation and artificial intelligence.

Impacts

• Cybersecurity will be a growing concern in the region’s microfinance sector.
• South-east Asian MFIs will increasingly bundle their financial offerings with other products and services.
• Poverty levels will rise across the region despite efforts by governments to mitigate the pandemic’s economic fallout.