P2P Lending and Digital Lending Fintechs Active in Southeast Asia
SINGAPORE, December 13, 2018 – The size of the Southeast Asian alternative financing market grew from US$46.65 million in 2015 to a whopping US$215.9 million the following year. That’s almost a fivefold leap in market value in just the span of a year, according to a study jointly conducted by the University of Cambridge and Monash University.
The United Nations estimates that Southeast Asians make up approximately 659 million of the world’s population at the time of writing—and among these numbers, a plethora of them come from regions that have traditionally been underbanked or underserved during the days before the word ‘fintech’ made any sense.
Without access to a bank account, and even if they do, a trackable credit record, these populations have been precluded from receiving loans from traditional financial institutions and thus, takes away a lot of opportunities for many of these populations to bring themselves to a higher economic standing.
P2P lending platforms have risen to address this specific problem, many were able to offer smaller loans, and thus more lax terms. Digitization or a good mobile layout also means that these platforms are able to penetrate more communities more quickly and with a less upfront cost.
