According to a survey prepared by Ernst & Young, Hong Kong demonstrates the highest rate of fintech adoption among all analyzed markets.
Hong Kong is the globe’s leading region in terms of fintech adoption, says the UK consulting company Ernst & Young.
The survey, conducted among 10,000 digitally active people in Hong Kong, the UK, Australia, the US and Canada, revealed that 29.1% of Hong Kong citizens have utilized at least two fintech services products over the past month.
Meantime, the US is ranked the second in terms of fintech adoption. According to the study, 16.5% of digitally active people in the country have used at least two fintech services within the last six months.
The US is followed by Singapore, the UK and Canada, which accounted for 14.7%, 14.3% and 8.2%, respectively. Meanwhile, the average rate of fintech products use in all these countries amounted to 15.5%.
Hong Kong currently offers the most favorable conditions for fintech companies, including low taxes, governmental support and widespread internet and mobile usage.
While the UK and the US take lead in the global fintech investment, China is considered to be one of the most favorable environments for fintech startups. The country’s government is open to new technologies and encourages innovations in the industry.
Chinese P2P lending platform Lufax earlier announced its plans to raise $1 billion in a funding round that is projected to be closed next year. Once completed, the investment would bring the company’s valuation to $15-20 billion.
The overall fintech adoption rate is forecast to more than double during the next year, given the growing awareness of new services.
Fintech startups could become serious competitors to established banks and financial organizations, due to their innovative solutions. This explains the growing investment in the industry. The globe’s leading financial companies are investing huge sums of money in new companies, acknowledging their potential to transform the industry.
“FinTechs are moving in on the traditional financial services landscape and their products and services are catching on. For traditional financial services companies, including banks, insurers and wealth and asset management companies, the risk of disruption is real,” the study reads.
According to the annual report, developed by the world’s major payment company Visa, the fintech sector showed tremendous growth in 2015. Besides, the company stressed the importance of blockchain’s role in the fintech industry. The distributed ledger has turned into one of the most promising technologies in 2015.
The fintech is also gaining popularity among the most prominent entrepreneurs on Wall Street. Such influential bankers as former JPMorgan’s executive, Blythe Masters, ex-CEO of Citigroup, Vikram Pandit, and former head of Morgan Stanley, John Mack, embrace the fintech in an attempt to modernize traditional financial services.
Earlier this month, H2 Ventures and KPMG issued a list of 100 companies dominating the fintech industry. The report underlined international nature of fintech, as the featured companies are located all over the world.
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