Financial Technology and Innovative Financial Inclusion

Abstract

A portmanteau of financial technology (FinTech) centralizes on the innovative use of smart mobile devices to design and deliver financial services and products, elevating an innovative way of delivering financial services. The chapter mainly focuses on the definition and the importance of FinTech to the financial ecosystem especially in the Southeast Asia region. It focuses on how financial technology (FinTech) came to be, how transactions in the past mostly use cash, and then shifted to credit card and then shifted to a cashless transaction, for example using e-wallet or simply using smartphone for any financial transaction. The research found out how the huge percentage of internet users in the Southeast Asia region were the cause of the development of FinTech companies in the region for FinTech startups. It also showed how FinTech helped to provide solutions for financial inclusion, especially unbanked population.