Key Challenges in Southeast Asia’s Financial Landscape
The numbers speak for themselves — millions remain underserved, and SMEs face massive barriers to growth. These gaps highlight the urgent need for inclusive financial solutions.
Gap 1: The Financial Inclusion Gap
Over 70% of Southeast Asia’s adult population — around 570 million people — is either unbanked or underbanked (Source: Temasek). This means limited or no access to basic services like savings accounts, loans, or insurance.
A key driver of this gap is low financial literacy. Globally, only about one-third of adults are financially literate, making it even harder for people to use or trust financial services (Source: S&P Global).
Gap 2: The SME Financing Gap
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of Southeast Asia’s economy, but traditional banks often refuse to lend to them. Complex requirements and the absence of formal credit histories make financing inaccessible.
The result is a global MSME financing gap of $5.2 trillion annually, with East Asia and the Pacific accounting for 46% of this total, showing a critical regional need (Source: IFC). Without affordable capital, SMEs struggle to scale, innovate, and contribute fully to economic growth.
Gap 3: High Costs & Cash Dependency
Even as smartphone adoption grows, over 80% of transactions between consumers and businesses in Southeast Asia were still conducted in cash as of 2020 (Source: CPA Australia, World Economic Forum). This reliance on cash is inefficient, costly, and keeps many excluded from digital financial ecosystems.
For those who use digital channels, transaction fees are prohibitively high. For example, the average cost of sending a $200 remittance in sub-Saharan Africa was 7.8% in 2022, with banks often charging even more (Source: World Bank). These costs hit the most vulnerable hardest, including migrant workers and small merchants.
Turning Gaps
Into Opportunities
Southeast Asia’s financial markets face significant challenges, especially for individuals and SMEs underserved by traditional institutions. These gaps highlight the urgent need for inclusive solutions. BlinqPay bridges the financial divide by delivering affordable, accessible, and secure digital services — transforming challenges into opportunities and empowering people, SMEs, and communities to participate fully in the global economy.