Southeast Asia leaps ahead in high-tech financial services

E-money offers the latest example of technological 'leapfrogging' in Asia

20191206 OVO

Indonesia's Ovo offers an app that lets people do everything from make daily purchases to buy investment products on their smartphones.

JUN SUZUKI and TOMOYA ONISHI, Nikkei staff writers

JAKARTA/HANOI -- Bank customers in Asia are swapping their wallets for smartphones, using apps for everything from buying groceries to sending money home from abroad to investing.

Need a loan? Forget filling out paperwork and waiting in line for a bank teller. Now you can apply for credit on your phone and receive an answer almost immediately, thanks to screening that uses artificial intelligence. Financial services are increasingly available anytime, anywhere.

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