The Transaction Finance Working Group Friday, 29 March 2024

Retail Finance

In a global survey which assessed more than 100 financial institutions across 26 key markets on how well they performed in regards to the growth of digital users per month, Asian Banker Research compared top-tier financial institutions: commercial banks, ecommerce/payments/marketplace platforms, neo-banks and digital-only banks set up by commercial banks. For a full explanation of the survey methodology you may want to go to the end of this page.

FI Category
Country
Financial Institution Growth in digital users
per month
‰ of total population Period of Observation Ranking
PlatformGlobalAlipay22,916,700¹³2.98January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformGlobalWeChat Pay20,833,300¹³2.71January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformGlobalApple Pay12,518,6001.63January 2017 - March 2019
PlatformIndiaPaytm Payments Bank10,000,000³7.47June 2018 - May 2019
Financial GroupChinaPing An Group8,000,0005.77January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformGlobalMastercard3,800,0000.51January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankChinaAgricultural Bank of China3,666,700³2.65January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankChinaChina Construction Bank3,625,000³2.62January 2017 - December 2018
Neo-BankChinaWebank3,375,0002.41January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankChinaICBC3,014,700³2.17January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformGlobalPayPal2,963,000¹0.38January 2017 - March 2019
PlatformIndiaGoogle Pay 2,438,0001.83September 2017 - December 2018
Platform JapanLINE Pay2,000,000¹15.87June 2017 - June 2019
Commercial BankChinaBank of China1,916,700³0.72January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformGlobalVISA1,500,0000.19January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformGlobalSamsung Pay1,375,000²0.18January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankChinaChina Merchants Bank1,166,700³0.84January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformASEANGo Jek Pay1,100,0002.51April 2016 - December 2018
PlatformChina/Hong KongWelab1,083,0000.78July 2017 - December 2018
PlatformMulti RegionalLINE Pay1,050,000²³0.65January 2015 - December 2018
PlatformGlobal Coinbase1,041,7000.14January 2017 - June 2019
Neo-BankChinaBaixinBank by Baidu1,000,0000.72January 2018 - December 2018
Commercial BankIndiaState Bank of India992,6000.74January 2017 - March 2019
Commercial BankChinaPing An Bank833,300³0.77January 2017 - July 2018
Commercial BankChinaChina CITIC Bank695,800²0.50January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformPhilippinersGcash586,2005.43January 2017 - May 2019
Neo-BankBrazilNU Bank550,0002.59September 2018 - July 2019
Commercial BankMulti RegionalSantander470,400n/aJanuary 2017 - March 2019
PlatformChinaLufax444,4000.32January 2017 - March 2019
Neo-BankKoreaKakao Bank423,8008.31July 2017 - March 2019
Neo-BankChinaMybank395,8000.28January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformThailandTrueMoney388,9005.62January 2016 - July 2018
Commercial BankMulti RegionalBBVA381,500naJanuary 2017 - March 2019
PlatformVietnamMoMo359,100³3.76January 2017 - October 2018
Commercial BankGlobalCitibank318,500¹0.41January 2017 - March 2019
Commercial BankIndiaICICI291,7000.22January 2017 - December 2018
PlatformTaiwanLINE Pay283,300¹11.90July 2018 - June 2019
Commercial BankAfricaEcobank241,700³0.18January 2016 -December 2018
Commercial BankBrazilSantander233,3001.10January 2017 - March 2019
Commercial BankUSJP Morgan Chase229,200¹0.70January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankThailandKasikornbank225,000³3.26January 2017 - December 2018
Neo-BankMulti RegionalRevolut214,300n/aJanuary 2018 - Febuary 2019
Neo-BankEurozoneN26187,5002.84July 2018 - February 2019
Neo-BankUSChime180,6000.55January 2018 - June 2019
Neo-BankUKMonzo167,000²0.49April 2018 - December 2018
PlatformMulti RegionalM-PESA154,200³n/aJanuary 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankUS/CanadaCitibank148,100¹0.45January 2017 - March 2019
Commercial BankBrazilBradesco Group147,8000.69July 2017 - June 2019
Commercial BankUSBank of America147,600¹0.45January 2017 - June 2019
Commercial BankKoreaShinhan Bank141,700³2.78January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankKoreaHana KEB137,500³2.71January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankUKLoyds Banking Group137,500¹2.10January 2017- December 2018
PlatformMulti RegionalWorldRemit133,300n/aJuly 2016 - December 2018
Commercial BankSpainSantander126,7002.76January 2018 - March 2019
Commercial BankGlobalStandard Chartered125,000²0.02March 2014 - March 2017
Commercial BankNigeriaGuaranty Trust Bank112,500²0.56January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankThailandSiam Commercial Bank108,7001.57July 2017 - June 2019
Commercial BankVietnamVietcombank108,3001.11January 2017- December 2018
Digital-only BankGlobalING Group108,3000.02January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankIndonesiaBNI102,9000.38January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankTurkeyGaranti Bank102,5001.24January 2017- December 2018
Neo-BankUSAspiration100,0000.30June 2018 - June 2019
PlatformThailandRabbit LINE Pay100,000¹1.45January 2018 - June 2019
PlatformMulti RegionalTransferwise95,000³0.01January 2017 - September 2018
PlatformIndiaWhatsUp Pay90,0000.07February 2018 - November 2018
Commercial BankItalyIntesa Sanpaolo87,5001.49January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankUSWells Fargo86,700¹0.26January 2017 - June 2019
Commercial BankSouth AfricaFirst National Bank83,300³1.43January 2018 - December 2018
Neo-BankUSMarcus by Goldman Sachs76,9000.24October 2016 - November 2018
Commercial BankAfricaGT Bank(USSD only)75,000n/aJanuary 2017 - December 2018
Digital-only BankIndiaDigibank by DBS71,9000.05May 2016 - December 2018
Commercial BankMalaysiaMaybank66,700³2.10January 2017 - March 2019
Commercial BankUKBarclays62,500¹0.94January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankVietnamVietinbank65,200²0.68Jan 2017 -November 2018
Neo-BankEurozoneMonese65,000²0.91January 2016 - April 2019
Commercial BankSpainCaixa Group62,5001.37January 2016- December 2018
Commercial BankUKSantander62,5000.91July 2018 - March 2019
Commercial BankVietnamBIDV47,900³0.49January 2017-December2018
Digital-only BankIndonesiaDigibank by DBS47,6000.09August 2017 - May 2019
Digital-only BankUSBankMobile47,2000.14January 2016 - December 2018
Neo-BankJapanRakuten Bank45,2000.36January 2015 - December 2018
PlatformChinaYirendai (CreditEase)42,9000.03January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankVietnamVPBank41,7000.43January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankUKRBS41,700¹0.61January 2018 - December 2018
Commercial BankGlobalHSBC41,7000.01April 2015 - April 2018
PlatformSaudi ArabiaSTC Pay40,0001.22October 2018 - February 2019
Commercial BankCanadaRoyal Bank of Canada40,000¹1.08June 2017 - June 2018
Commercial-BankAustraliaSuncorp38,3331.53July 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankNigeriaFirst Bank of Nigeria38,100³0.19January 2017 - March 2019
Commercial BankAustralia/NZCBA37,500¹1.52January 2017 - December 2018
Digital-only BankSpainimaginBank by CaixaBank33,3000.72January 2016 - December 2018
Neo-BankIndonesiaJenius32,0000.12August 2016 - August 2018
Digital-only BankJapanJibun Bank30,6300.24January 2015 - December 2018
Neo-BankBrazilBanco Inter Brazil30,3000.14January 2016 - September 2018
PlatformUKCurve30,0000.45February 2018 - November 2018
Commercial BankAustraliaANZ29,600¹1.18January 2017 - December 2018
Digital-only BankAustraliaING Direct29,200¹1.19January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankSingapore/Hong KongDBS29,2002.24December 2016 - December 2018
Digital-only BankFranceBoursorama by Societe General29,2000.45January 2016 - December 2018
Neo-BankUKAtom Bank28,6000.42April 2016 - March 2019
Neo-BankUKStarling Bank27,5000.39March 2017- July 2019
Neo-BankFranceNickel by BNP Paribas27,0000.42June 2016 - June 2019
Commercial BankAustraliaWestpac26,300¹1.04January 2017 - December 2018
Neo-BankBrazilBanco Original25,8000.12April 2016 - December 2017
Digital-only BankGermany/AustriaING DIBA25,000²0.30January 2016 - December 2018
Neo-BankVietnamTIMO21,9000.22January 2017 - June 2019
Digital-only BankTaiwanRichart! by Taishin International21,7000.92January 2018 - December 2018
Digital-only BankJapanSBI Sumishin Net Bank21,1000.16January 2015 - December 2018
Commercial BankJapanMUFJ20,8000.22January 2017 - December 2018
Digital-only BankNigeriaALAT by Wema16,5000.09May 2017 - September 2018
Digital-only BankUSAlly Bank15,3000.05January 2016 - December 2018
Digital-only BankCanadaEQ Bank by Equitable Bank10,7000.06January 2016 - February 2019
Digital-only BankUAELiv by Emirates NBD10,0001.06May 2017 - May 2018
Commercial BankIndonesiaMandiri8,3000.03January 2017 - December 2018
Commercial BankSwedenSwedBank8,3000.52January 2017 - December 2018
Digital-only BankEuropeHello Bank! by BNP Paribas8,3000.01January 2018 - December 2018
Digital-only BankAustraliaUp by Bendigo6,7000.27October 2018 - December 2018
Digital-only BankAustraliaUBank5,5830.23October 2017 - September 2018
Neo-BankCanadaKOHO4,6000.12March 2017 - May 2019

Notes:
(1) active digital users as defined by the FI
(2) estimated based on indirect data such as active ratios, total customer, growth, or retail digital user base
(3) mobile banking users only
(4) According to Citibank reports active digital consumer banking users grew by 337,500 per month between July 2016 and June 2018. Asian Banker Research applied an 85% digital active rate to determine total registered digital consumer banking base.
(5) ‰ of total population is defined as the growth of digital users per month divided by total country population and measured in per mille = 1/1000
(6) To determine ‰ for multi-regional FIs we aggregated the number of population by country.
Source: Asian Banker Research



Global survey of digital financial institutions: Methodology

  • The overall objective of this listing is to rank the top-tier digital FIs according to their ability to attract digital users (across all business segments).
  • The survey covers key global markets such as the US, South America, Canada, Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific. 
  • The survey took into consideration mainly the period from 2015 to 2018.
  • The time period for each institution varies slightly but overlap with the core period between 2016 and 2017.
  • The listing is not exhaustive. The focus was on the top tier players in key market and region and for those where data were publicly available.
  • For the sake of simplicity, the survey defines all digital banks set up by non-bank FIs as neo-banks. For digital banks set up by commercial banks we refer to digital-only banks.
  • Data reflect gross onboarding and acquisition figures, not net growth which discounts for attrition.
  • Digital users per month are based on the growth of registered digital users which includes internet and mobile only, regardless whether they were directly digitally acquired, in the case of neo banks, platforms or digital banks, or digitally onboarded into mobile and internet banking which often is the case for commercial banks. 
  • The findings of the survey do not make assumptions about the quality of those accounts in regards to active accounts measured through a certain period or by measuring attrition. 
  • As for digital-only banks, the data do not tell how many of those onboarded were from the parent bank.
  • At times, the reason for the differences in client acquisition per months between digital FIs in the same market is not performance but different market positioning such as in the case of WeBank and MyBank in China. WeBank focuses on individual clients and consumer financing, while Mybank’s target segment is serving Micro and Small Enterprise (MSEs), hence the smaller numbers.
How is the ‘Star’ rating decided?
Based on average growth of digital users per month 

Star Rating 2018 Based on average growth of digital users per month