Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

Tracingapptrendsanduserbehavior

inIndiaandSoutheastAsia

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

2

Contents

Introduction

3

Themarketataglance 4

Whatisdrivingthefintechrevolution? 6

Thefintechgoldrush 8

Section1:TheevolvingfintechlandscapeinIndia&SoutheastAsia 8

Section2:The3Ssofuserresolution:Security,substance,andsolvency 17

Section3:SpinningthefintechUAroulette 23

Takingnewagewealthmanagementtothemasses 26

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

3

Introduction

InQ22021,India’sUPIbankinginterfacerecordedtransactionsworth$68billion–thehighesteverinthecountry’sfintechhistory1.Simultaneously,inSoutheastAsia(SEA),theindustrycelebratedthebirthofafintechunicorn(Mynt)–afirstfromthePhilippines2.Intheirjourneyofwritingfintechhistory,IndiaandSEA*showremarkablesimilaritiesintermsofappadoption,userbehavior,userchallenges,andopportunities.

TheregionsofIndiaandSEAarehometooneofthelargestunbankedandfinanciallyunderservedpopulacesintheworld.Intermsoflogistics,establishingphysicalbanksinruralareasandremoteislandsposesaseriouschallenge.Thishascreatedanopportunityforfintechappstoappealtothevast,tech-savvymillennialandGenZaudience.Bothregionsarealsowitnessingactivegovernmentparticipationtoincreasefinancialinclusionofeverydemographic,andthedigitizationoffinancesofferedbythefintechindustryispoisedforrapidadoption.

AswealthaccumulationbecomesapriorityinIndiaandSEA,theregionsarewitnessingaconsumerbehavioralshiftamongtheyoungurbanpopulation.Instantgratification,simplicity,theabilitytocompletetasksonthego,andahightendencytoseekoutearlyfinancialindependence,millennialsandGenZarethinkingbeyondwhattraditionalfinancialinstitutionscanoffer.Fixeddeposits,recurringdeposits,andpublicprovidentfundsfeaturelowintheirplansoffinancialsustainability.However,tradingcryptocurrency,non-fungibletokens(NFTs),andmutualfundsaregainingtraction.

AdjustandMAAS’“Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal”reportmapsthekeyfintechtrendsinIndiaandSoutheastAsia,andoffersinsightsintoin-appuserbehavior.ThereportalsofeaturesdataandactionabletakeawaysfromindustryexpertstohelpfintechappmarketersanddevelopersprepareUAcampaignsfor2022andbeyond.

1

India’sUPIbankinginterfacerecordedtransactionsworth$68billion

2

Birthofafintechunicorn

*ForthepurposesofthisreportSoutheastAsiaisrepresentedbySingapore,Indonesia,Malaysia,Vietnam,thePhilippines,Thailand

Digital

Neobanks

InsureTech

WealthTech

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

4

Themarketataglance

India

SoutheastAsia

Projectedmarketsize

$150-160Billion3(by2025)

$1Trillion5(by2025)

Investment

$2Billion4

$3.5Billion6

Increaseininstalls

sinceCOVID

14%

140%

Popularfintechcategoriesfor2021

payments

Buynowpaylater

3

$150-160Billion

4

AsofH12021;$2Billion

5

$1Trillion

6

$3.5Billion

7DatacollectedfromApptopia.

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

5

TopfintechappsdownloadedinINSEAin20217

Android

India

Indonesia

Malaysia

Philipines

Singapore

Thailand

Vietnam

PhonePe

Dana

Touch'nGo

GCash

GooglePay

Paotang

MoMo

GooglePay

OVO

i

-Akaun

PayMaya

DBS

Digibank

TrueMoneyWallet

TossReward

PayTm

BCAMobile

Boost

PayPal

POSB

Digibank

Krungthai

NEXT

MBBank

YONOSBI

BrimoBRI

Maybank2uMY

UnionBankOnline

DBSPayLah

MyMo

Viettal

Money

Dhani

JMO

MAE

MyHome

Credit

SingtelDash

KPlus

Vietcom

Bank

iOS

India

Indonesia

Malaysia

Philipines

Singapore

Thailand

Vietnam

GooglePay

Dana

Touch'nGo

GCash

DBSPayLah

Paotang

ViMoMo

PhonePe

BCAMobile

Maybank2u

PayMaya

DBS

Digibank

TrueMoneyWallet

MBBank

PayTm

OVO

i

-Akaun

PayPal

POSB

Digibank

Krungthai

NEXT

Vietcom

Bank

YONOSBI

BrimoBRI

MAE

BDODigitalBanking

GooglePay

KPlus

ViettelPay

HDFCBank

BNIMobile

Banking

CIMBClicks

BPIMobile

OCBCSGMobileBank

SCBEasy

AgribankE

7DatacollectedfromApptopia.

?Non-urbaneconomyisfocusedonsmall-to-medium-sizedbusinesses.

?BlackswaneventslikedemonetizationinIndiaandtheglobalpandemicenforcingtheimportanceofdigitalfinances.

?Eagernesstobreakfreefromtraditionalfinancialmanagementmodels,especiallyamongthemobile-firstyoungergenerations.

?Ahighinterestamongventurecapitalistsandinvestorstopromotethefintechindustry.

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

6

Whatisdrivingthe

fintechrevolution?

FinancialinclusionisasocialpriorityforadministrationsinIndiaandSEA

alike.Bothregionshavelargeunbankedpopulationsandalackofphysical

infrastructureinremotelocations–primingthemeachforafintechrevolution.

WhenmappingthekeyuserbehaviorsoffintechappsinIndiaandSEA,we

noticeafewmajordrivingforcesinfluencingmarkettrendsinbothlocales.

?Increasinggovernmentfinancialschemestoempowerfinancialsustainabilityatthegrassrootlevel.

?Governmentinclinationtobringinlighttouchregulationsencouragingfintechstothrive.

?Highsmartphonepenetration.

?Ahigherpercentageofthemigrant

populationfindsiteasytohave

adecentralizedfinancialmodel.

“Justafewyearsback,carryingcashinourwalletswasaregularpractice.Today,cashlesstransactionsdominateourpurchases.Fortheyoungergenerations,millennialsandGenZ,wealthmanagementisgraduallybecomingsynonymoustoFintechapps.Youngstersaredemandingeaseandconveniencetomanagetheirfinancesandarequiteeagertobreakawayfromtraditionalmodels.Therisingdemandforeasyfinancemanagementisboostingtheindustryintermsofinnovationandcompetitiveofferings.ThisyearissettobequiteinterestingforFintechsubverticalslikealternativelending,digitalassetmanagementandneobanksinhowtheyappealtohopefulusersandestablishthemselvesasmainstreamplayersinthesector.”

VipulKedia,

ChiefData&PlatformsOfficer;HeadOfBusiness(India)

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

7

Methodology

anddataset

Tomapthekeyuserbehaviortrends,MAASandAdjustanalyzeddatacollectedfromvarioussubverticalsofpopularfintechappsacrossthetworegions:IndiaandSEA.Thereportalsolooksatdatabefore,during,andafterthepandemictounderstanditsimpactonthefintechindustryandhowitiscontributingtotheoverallgrowthofthesector.

AmixofAdjust’stop2,000appsandthetotaldatasetofallappstrackedbyAdjust.Ourdatacomesfromtwosources,oneincludingalistof45countriesandonewithapproximately250basedontheISO3166-1standard.Date:01.01.2020-31.12.2021

8

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

Thefintechgoldrush

Section1:TheevolvingfintechlandscapeinIndia&SoutheastAsia

Undertheunpredictablethreatofaglobalpandemicin2020,IndiaandSEAwitnessedstrictlockdownsandmovementrestrictions.Brickandmortarstoresremainedclosed,andthepopulationdependedondeliveries.Thegrassrooteconomiesinbothoftheseregionsareheavilydependentonsmall-andmedium-sizedbusinessesthatrelyoncash.However,thepandemicnecessitatedthemigrationtoacashlesssystemofmanagingfinances.Withconversationsaboutnewvariantsinthenewsandnoabsoluteendtothepandemicinsight,theregionshaveshownsteadyadoptionofdigitalfinanceandhigherdependenceoncontactless,cashlesstransactionstoavoidfutureinconveniences.

“Ourliveshavealwaysbeenpoweredbysocialpayments:splittingbills,buyinggroceries,travelingorgoingoutwithfriends,andmore.Itseemsjustlikeyesterdaythatwe'dstillhavetocountbillsfromourfriendsafteranightout.Sincethen,alothaschanged:Fintechhasrevolutionizedthewaywemanageandencounteroursocialfinances.It'snotunusualanymoretohearFintechbrandsreplacewordsusedforpayment.InthePhilippines,wehearpeoplesay"GCashmonalang'yan!"("justGCashit!").WhatGoogledidtoredefineinternetsearchterms,we'redoingnowwithfinancialterms.Westandnowatthebrinkofadigitalfinancerevolution,anditissafetosaythatcashlesstransactionsareheretostay.”

AJWang,

HeadofAcquisitions&PerformanceMarketing

KEYFINDINGS

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

9

Fintechappinstalls-India&SoutheastAsia

29.1229.0129.0231.0330.0431.0530.0631.0731.0830.0931.1030.1131.1231.0128.0231.0330.0431.0530.0631.0731.0830.0931.1030.11

20192020

2021

Note:Thedataincludestotalmonth-on-monthinstallsofthetopfintechappstrackedbyAdjustinINSEAbetween2020-2021.

From2019to2020,theoverallrateofinstallsjumpedby44%.

Asshownonthechartabove,thistrendcontinuedinto2021,withinstallssustainingtheirmarchupwardandincreasingbyanother41%.AlargespikeininstallscanalsobeseenstartingattheendofMarch2020,andextendinguntilaroundtheendofApril—installsduringthistimeframewere17%higherthanthe2020average.ThiscoincideswiththerestrictionsandsocialdistancingrulesrelatedtoCOVID-19thathadstartedrollingoutthroughouttheregion,whenusersturnedtotheirphonesforbankingandpaymentsatanunprecedentedrate.

KEYOBSERVATION

250%

200%

150%

100%

50%

0%

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

10

Fintechappinstallgrowthbycountry

2019-20202020-2021

300%

INSEAIndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaVietnamPhilippinesThailandSingapore

Note:ThedataincludesannualinstallgrowthrateofthetopfintechappstrackedbyAdjustinINSEA.

Breakinggrowthdownbycountry,comparedtoINSEAasawhole,wecanseethatallmarketsexperiencedimpressiveinstallboostsfrom2019-2020andagainfrom2020-2021.Mostimpressivein2020werethePhilippinesandVietnam,whereinstallsincreasedby262%and137%,respectively.Hugejumpslikethiscanmakegrowthinthefollowingyearlooklessimpressive,butwhenamarketcangrowby262%andcontinuetostayintheplusforthenext12months,that'sanindicationofpositivegrowth.Thetopplayersin2021wereSingaporeat152%andMalaysiaat106%.India'sgrowthwasalsonoteworthy,with71%in2020,andanother32%in2021.

05.01

05.02

05.03

05.04

05.05

05.06

05.07

05.08

05.09

05.10

05.11

05.12

05.01

05.02

05.03

05.04

05.05

05.06

05.07

05.08

05.09

05.10

05.11

05.12

KEYOBSERVATION

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

11

Fintechappsessions-India&SoutheastAsia2020-2021

2020

2021

Note:Thedataincludestotalmonth-on-monthin-appsessionsofthetopfintechappstrackedbyAdjustacrossGooglePlayandtheAppStoreinINSEAbetween2020-2021.

SessionsarewherewereallyseethedramaticincreaseinuseractivityaspatternsstartedshiftingthroughoutthefirstCOVID-19wave,andbeyond.From2019to2020,sessionsinINSEAgrewbyanenormous136%,followedbyanevenmoredrastic186%whencomparing2020to2021,asrepresentedontheabovechart.Thisindicatesthattheuserswhohadalreadydownloadedfintechappspre-March2020havebeenturningtoamoremobile-firstapproachforbankingandotherfinancerelatedactivities,andthatnewusersareprovingequallyengaged—makingforanincrediblystronguserbase.

KEYOBSERVATION

200%

150%

100%

50%

0%

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

12

FintechappsessiongrowthbycountryINSEA2020-2021

250%

INSEAIndiaIndonesiaVietnamPhilippinesThailand

Note:ThedataincludesannualappsessiongrowthrateofthetopfintechappstrackedbyAdjustinINSEAbetween2020-2021.

Atthecountrylevel,allmarketsinINSEAfollowedsimilartrendsin2021,growingmassivelyrelativeto2020,ayearthatalreadymadehugegainscomparedto2019.ItwasalmostatiebetweenIndiaandVietnam,withthelattermarginallyoutperformingtheformer—appsessionsinIndiagrewby190%,whileVietnammanaged191%.Indonesia,thePhilippinesandThailandalsosawsizableupticksat170%,132%,and39%,respectively.

KEYOBSERVATION

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

13

Fintechappsessiongrowthbycountry

201920202021

25

20

Timeinminutes

15

10

5

0

INSEAIndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaVietnamPhilippinesThailandSingapore

Note:ThedataincludesacomparativestudyofannualappsessionsinminutesofthetopfintechappstrackedbyAdjustinINSEAbetween2019-2021.

IntermsofsessionlengthsforthefintechverticalasawholeinINSEA,usersinIndiaareclockingthemostminutesin-apppersession.In2021,Indianusersaveraged17.38minutespersession,withSingaporeandThailandfollowingat7.09minutesand5.9minuteseach.WhileSingaporeandThailandbothgrewfrom2020to2021,Indiasteppedbackslightly,as2020sessionsreachedashighas19.89minutes.ThePhilippineshadthelowestsessionlengths,atjust2.05minutes,anumberthat’sbeendroppingsince2019(whenitwasat5.3minutes),reflectingthegrowingmarketshareofpaymentapps,wheresessionlengthsarenaturallyshorter.

KEYOBSERVATION

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

30%

20%

10%

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

14

Averagefintechappretention-2021

Q1Q2Q3Q4

5%

00123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930

Daysafterinstall

Note:ThedataretentionrateofthetopfintechappstrackedbyAdjustatAPAClevelin2021.

Retentionratesthroughout2021forfintechusersintheAPACregionhaveremainedremarkablyconsistent,withday1rateshighestinQ1(16%),followedbyQ4(15%).Thistrendcontinuesthroughoutthe30-dayperiodtracked,showingday7retentionhoversaround10%andday14atapproximately8%.Thehighestday-30retentionratewasseeninQ1andQ3(6%).Q2andQ4bothcameinat5%.

Thispaintsaclearpictureforfintechappmarketerslookingtocapitalizeon

lifetimevalueintheAPACregion,asretentionispredictable,indicatingthat

usersin2021followedsimilarpatternswiththeirfintechapps.Therewereno

immenseshiftsinbehaviorattributedtospecificmomentsregardinglockdowns

orsocialdistancing.

Fintechappshavebecomeastandardfeatureinpeople’slives.Marketingteamscouldbenefitfromtryingtoincreasetheretentionrateoftheirappbydevelopingauserjourneythatincentivizesopeningandengaging.Forstocktradingorcryptoapps,forexample,thiscouldbeapushnotificationremindertocheckontheday’sperformance.

25.99

?

?

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

15

Whatthismeansforappmarketers

Amidstconcernsofsafety,hygiene,andfinancialsolvency,IndiaandSEAhaveadopted

cashlesstransactionslikeneverbefore.Theregionswerealreadycomfortablewithdigital

transactionsintheformofpaymentintegrationsinshoppingorotherlifestyleapps.

However,theusertodayisunafraidofbringingtheirentirewealthmanagementonline–be

itsavings,trading,payments,orsimplebanking.Financialmanagementisn’teasyandthe

time-crunchedusertodayismorethanwillingtodischargetheirfinancialresponsibilities

injustafewtaps.

Howcanfintechappmarketersleveragethistrend?

Thetoughestpartofcrackinganymarketisusereducationandawareness.Theperiodof

2019-2021providedahugeeducationalopportunitytousersintheINSEAmarket.Nowthat

theconceptofmobilewealthmanagementisunderstood,it’stimetocreateabondthat

fostersloyaltytothebrand.

?Maximizereachandpenetrationbeyondmetroswithadiversifiedchannelapproach.Chooseachannelmixthatcomplementseachotherandreducesaudiencetargetingoverlaps.

Duetothewidegamutofservicesavailableonfintechapps,usersmayoftenfinddigitalwealthmanagementtricky.Usevideoadsshowinghowyourappworkstoencourageinstallsandregistrations.

?Ensureyourmarketingstrategytakesintoaccountvernacularizationofyourmessages.Forabetteruserexperience,startlookingatoptionstolocalizeyourappforgreaterusabilityamongalldemographicsections.

Withtheboominsocialmediaandcreatoreconomy,influencerandsocialmarketingwillbecomeakeystrategyforthegrowthoffintechappsin2022.

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

16

“Withthenewnormalbecomingsimplythenormal,thefocusofthefinancialservicesindustrywillbetocreatemoremeaningfuldigitalexperiencesthatimprovethefinancialhealthandwell-beingofthecustomersthey’retryingtoreachwithfeaturesthatappealtothisgroup—millennialsorthefinanciallyunderservedalike.Thefintechsthatcontinuouslyinnovateproducts,understandlocalneedsandofferbetteruserexperienceswillseethemostsuccess.Nottoforget,privacy-enhancingsolutionswillbekeyinbuildingtrustwiththeircustomers.”

AjitPawar,

DirectorOfPartnerships,APAC

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

17

Thefintechgoldrush

Section2:The3Ssofafintechuserresolution–

security,substance,solvency

AsthemillennialsandGenZofIndiaandSEAdevelopabetter

work-lifebalance,theyarecravingeasierwealthmanagementacross

allfinancialservices–insurance,creditdisbursals,buying/selling/

investinginfinancialassets,etc.Thefintechindustryisrapidly

evolvingtoaccommodatenewagedigitalwealthmanagementandto

appealtoatech-savvy,mobile-firstgeneration.

KEYOBSERVATION

KEYOBSERVATION

GooglePlay

AppStore

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

18

Averagefintechappuseragebycountry

FemaleMale

40

IndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeThailandVietnam

InallINSEAmarkets,theaverageuserageisbetween20and40,withmostcountrieserringontheyoungersideofthatbracket.ForappsdownloadedonGooglePlay,thePhilippineshastheoldestaverageusersintheregion,withtheaveragefemaleusercominginat40.1yearsold,andtheaveragemaleat37.8.Indiahastheyoungestusers,at27.1forfemalesandasyoungas23.9formales.Inalmostallmarkets,maleusersareyoungeronaveragethantheirfemalecounterparts,exceptforThailand,wherefemaleusersaverageoutat33yearsold,andmaleuserscomeinat35.9yearsold.

FemaleMale

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

IndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeThailandVietnam

PatternsintheAppleAppStorearesimilar,withtheaverageoverallagehigherthanthatofGooglePlay,butwithinasmallerrange.ThailandandIndonesiahavetheoldestaveragemaleusers,at38.2and36.8respectively,whileMalaysiaandthePhilippineshavetheoldestfemaleusers(35.7and35.6yearsold).Indiahastheyoungestuserbaseintheregion,at28.3forfemaleusersand24.5formaleusers.

Note:ThedataincludesaverageuserageofmenandwomenofthetopfintechappstrackedbyApptopiaacrossGooglePlay

andtheAppStoreinINSEAin2020-2021.

27%

53%

12%

8%

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

19

Fintechappinstallsbysubvertical:India&SoutheastAsia

PaymentBankingCryptoStocktrading

6%

3%

10%

81%

KEYOBSERVATION

Puttingaspotlightonthefintechsubverticalsinwhichinstallsoccurredin2021,wecanseethatthevastmajoritywerepaymentapps—makingup81%oftotalinstalls.Bankingcomesinsecondwith10%,followedbystocktradingandcryptoat6%and3%.

Note:Thedataincludestotalinstallsofthetopfintechapps

trackedbyAdjustinINSEAasof2021.

FintechsessionsbysubverticalINSEA2021

PaymentBankingCryptoStocktrading

KEYOBSERVATION

Sessionslookalittledifferenttoinstallsatsubverticallevel.Whilepaymentretainsthenumberonespot—at53%comparedto88%ininstalls—theotherthreecategoriesshiftaround.Thesecondbiggestcategoryisstocktrading,whichtakes27%ofthesessionsshare,inrelationtoonly6%ofinstalls.Cryptocurrencyapps,whichaccountedforjust3%ofinstalls,makeup12%ofsessions,andbankingfallsto8%ofsessionsinrelationto10%ofinstalls.Whileinterestincryptoandstocktradingissomewhatmorenichethanpaymentandbanking—whicharerelevanttoalmostallusers—thekindsofusersthatdownloadstocktradingandcryptoarelikelytobehighlyengaged,andcheckingtheirappsmultipletimesaday.

Note:Thedataincludessessiondurationsofthetopfintech

appstrackedbyAdjustinINSEAasof2021.

KEYOBSERVATION

Stocktrading

Crypto

Payment

Banking

All

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

20

Averagefintechin-appsessionlengthbysubvertical

2019

20202021

0

10

5

15

20

Timeinminutes

Note:ThedataincludescomparativestudyofappsessionsinminutesofthetopfintechappstrackedbyAdjustinvariouscategoriesinINSEAfrom2019-2021

25

SessionlengthsforstocktradingappsinINSEAarebyfarthelongestwithinthefintechvertical,andhavegrownyear-on-yearsince2019.Averaging21.84minutesasessionin2021,the27%ofsessionstakingplacewithinthestocktradingcategoryarealsoverylong.Surprisingly,it’scryptothatcomesinlowest(7.29minutes),anumberweexpecttoseeovertakepayment(8.36minutes)andbanking(13.13minutes)throughout2022.Whileallverticalsareupin2021comparedto2019,afewpeakedin2020—cryptoreachedaheightof7.33minutespersession,andtheoverallaverageforINSEAwas1.5minuteshigherthantheprecedingyear.

?

?

Decryptingthefintechgoldrushinthenewnormal

21

Whatthismeansforappmarketers

Theeagernesstosimplifywealthmanagementandcheckofffinancialto-dolistsinafewclickshasprimedthefintechindustrytoofferinnovativenewsolutionstoanenthusiastic,tech-savvygeneration.Theupcomingyearswillchallengefintechbrandstotargettherightaudiencefortherig