Across much of the world, “inclusive innovation” remains an ideal. In Asia’s leading emerging markets, it’s a live strategy. India, Indonesia, and Singapore are leveraging fintech to close access gaps, not widen them. As the West builds incrementally for existing customers, these nations are innovating from the ground up, creating financial models with global relevance and inclusive scale.
Table of Contents
India: Ground-Up Innovation for a Billion Futures
India’s digital finance story is shifting from city-led growth to innovation rooted in rural and regulatory alignment.
Reimagining Innovation: The UPI Infrastructure Advantage
Launched by NPCI, India’s UPI is arguably the most impactful government-backed fintech innovation globally. With more than 11 billion transactions in July 2025, it has transformed digital payment accessibility.
Leveraging UPI, startups like PhonePe, BharatPe, and Paytm have created a thriving network of QR payments, peer transfers, and merchant services. India’s approach, combining open public infrastructure with private innovation, contrasts with the West’s fragmented private systems and enables large-scale inclusion.
Neobanks Targeting Beyond Urban Affluence
Startups such as Jupiter and Fi are redefining digital banking for young urban professionals, yet the true breakthroughs come from platforms like Fampay and Mahila Money, targeting teenagers and women in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
By tackling localized cash reliance, limited financial literacy, and community trust, these companies employ biometric KYC, regional language interfaces, and gamified savings not as mere features, but as vital enablers of financial inclusion.
Indonesia: The Convergence of Platforms and Financial Empowerment
As home to over 180 million underbanked, Indonesia offers both complexity and opportunity, with fintech growth fueled by platform-led and social-driven models.
Platform Apps as Engines of Financial Access
GoTo, the Gojek-Tokopedia merger and Grab have turned daily transactions into financial touchpoints. By embedding wallets, credit, and insurance into their platforms, they’re reaching millions outside the formal banking system. Their strength lies in seamless integration where services, payments, and lending converge in a single user journey.
Neobanking with a Mission
Neobanks like Bank Jago and SeaBank are gaining traction by aligning with users’ digital lifestyles. Jago’s integration into Gojek enables seamless financial management within a familiar platform but the deeper innovation lies in cultural alignment.
From Sharia compliant savings to digitized Arisan groups and localized interfaces, these fintechs are reaching underserved segments by designing with empathy as much as with scale.
Singapore: Leading with Pro-Innovation Regulation
Singapore’s consumer market is compact, but its fintech leadership is expansive. As a regional sandbox and DeFi hotspot, it punches well above its weight.
Digital Banking Tailored for Impact
MAS awarded digital bank licenses to Grab-Singtel and Sea Group to boost competition and improve financial access for gig workers, micro-SMEs, and expatriates who are often underserved.
Startups like Aspire and YouTrip offer modular services designed for Southeast Asia’s mobile-first, cross-border consumers. Singapore’s fintech scene emphasizes strategic regional growth over rapid expansion.
DeFi: Shifting Focus from Speculation to Accessibility
Singapore’s regulatory leadership in DeFi is pulling in global funding and compliance-minded entrepreneurs.Startups like Cake DeFi and protocols such as Zilliqa benefit from the city-state’s transparent regulations and active institutions.
Beyond speculative hype, DeFi is transforming capital access using smart contracts, tokenization, and DAO governance. Regional pilots with real-world asset tokenization such as invoice financing and remittances aim to bypass conventional credit bureaus and unlock fresh funding routes.
Global Innovation Lessons
India’s UPI and Indonesia’s super apps thrived not through flashy add-ons, but by establishing smooth, fundamental infrastructure. Emerging markets advance by emphasizing interoperability rather than standalone innovation.
Asian fintechs excel by tailoring solutions to local languages, informal markets, and cultural habits. True financial inclusion demands behavioral fit, not just digital availability.
Singapore highlights how effective regulation can boost innovation. MAS’s regulatory sandboxes build confidence among consumers and investors. Transparency in rules is a strength, not a limitation.
For many Asian startups, reaching the unbanked is a smart strategy, not philanthropy. These large, underserved markets present unique challenges and high loyalty potential. Fintechs embedding services within everyday platforms, ridesharing, messaging, or marketplaces build trust and drive growth.
Summary Perspective
The future of finance isn’t confined to traditional centers like San Francisco or London; it’s emerging from Jakarta’s local marketplaces, India’s smaller towns, and Singapore’s innovative regulatory hubs. Asian startups are demonstrating that inclusive innovation is both achievable and lucrative. They’re building financial systems that serve not just the privileged few, but adapt to the needs of billions.
As global capital increasingly flows toward purpose-driven fintech and regulators seek frameworks balancing innovation with stability, the insights from India, Indonesia, and Singapore will become ever more valuable. Inclusive innovation has shifted from a distant challenge to the very forefront of financial technology. For global players, adopting this approach is crucial to unlocking the next chapter of growth and meaningful impact.
