Industry Focus

Fintech

Facts

Mobile phones are transforming

finance. While most Bloomberg Markets

readers have a mobile phone and a bank

account—and perhaps a bank app on

their phone—millions of people around

the world have the phone but no bank.

These underbanked markets, led

by countries in Asia and Africa, have

inspired fintech innovation that’s

leapfrogging the technology available in

the developed world. The sheer number

of potential customers doesn’t ensure

success, however. The winners are the

companies that have devised business

models that can profit in less developed

markets, or that expand to serve

wealthier customers. Ant Financial

Services Group’s Alipay and Tencent

Holdings’ WeChat Pay in China, Paytm

in India, and Safaricom’s M-Pesa in Kenya

are some well-known examples.

A Gold Rush Overseas Mapping the Opportunity

Adults who own a mobile phone but have

no bank account

East Asia & Pacific

361m

South Asia

201m

Sub-Saharan Africa

146m

Latin America

14 3m

Middle East, North Africa

102m

North America

16m

Central Asia

27m

Europe

86m

People per bank*

Emerging markets Developed markets

0

0.6

1.2

1.8

2.4m

Germany

Japan

France

U.S.

Hong Kong

Australia

Canada

South

Korea

Mexico

Saudi Arabia

Brazil

China

Russia

Tu r key

Argentina

Indonesia

South Africa

India

54 BLOOMBERG MARKETS