When Ms Huang Linhui, 25, first moved to Germany in 2015 to study classical ballet, making payments – from school fees to daily expenses – was a non-issue.

Her mode of payment: Credit or debit cards. But when she travelled outside of the European Union, she had to stress over last-minute changing of physical foreign currencies. She travelled the region frequently for auditions and performances. 

She found a solution when she discovered digital financial apps like Revolut and Wise. These platforms offered a range of services, such as digital wallets, prepaid debit cards and multi-currency accounts.

“I’ve gone totally cashless since,” says Ms Huang, who is now pursuing a psychology degree in the UK.

“These apps are my e-wallets and e-payment platforms for everything – from big-ticket items such as school fees and rent, to groceries and movie tickets.”

Ms Huang, who is currently back in Singapore for a year-long internship, is also pleasantly surprised that Singapore is “much more cashless now, and everyone’s gone digital”.

Ms Huang’s impression is spot on – both in Singapore and the region.

More are turning to e-wallets, QR code-based payments, e-payment platforms, and mobile banking apps when they spend, says UOB’s 2023 Asean Consumer Sentiment Study (ACSS), which was released on Aug 21.

The ACSS, now in its fourth year, was conducted in June. It involves a 35-minute online survey, about a month’s fieldwork, covering 3,400 interviewees aged 18 to 65, in five countries – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Ms Jacquelyn Tan, head of Group Personal Financial Services at UOB, says the ACSS represents UOB’s long-term effort to better understand customers, so that the bank can “continually engage, educate and empower them in the financial space”. 

Ms Tan highlights the key trend from the study: “Rapid digitalisation for all-varied needs, leading to greater demand for personalisation”.

When it comes to sharing personal data with app platforms, the ACSS notes that 83 per cent of consumers in the region were comfortable doing so with banking apps. This is followed by multi-service and health and fitness apps (74 per cent), along with e-commerce and shopping apps (73 per cent). 

“Today, every one in two card billings is an e-commerce sale,” says Ms Tan. “The desire for simplicity, convenience and per-dollar value, as well as the rise in digitalisation, have brought about the transformation of how people handle their banking and lifestyle needs today. 

“It has empowered consumers to adopt technology with confidence, using different digital platforms to perform different activities, such as banking transactions, financial planning, investments, savings, borrowing, and spending and leveraging perks and offers.”

At a glance

How are consumers in Asean spending, managing and investing their money? Here’s a look at some of the study’s key findings.

How you will spend

The proliferation of e-wallets, e-commerce platforms and mobile banking apps will continue into the future and reshape what consumers spend on, and how they pay for it.

• Just-in-time spending

As customers allow their banks and e-payment platforms to access their financial and non-financial data, technology, together with artificial intelligence (AI), banks and non-banks will glean insights to help customers prioritise spending and payments. For example, automating grocery orders and payments via an app, instead of spending all at once at the supermarket.

• Bite-sized spending

Bite-sized spending will be the norm, with the prevalence of payment alternatives like “buy now, pay later” schemes. These differ from traditional hire-purchase or instalment schemes, which may charge high fees and have onerous terms and conditions. 

• Targeted spending

Each customer’s digital footprint, formed through interactions with financial services providers, allows their banks to form personalised insights, nudges, and deals. With continual AI-assisted data analysis, banks can cater to individual preferences and behaviours. This empowers the customer to choose when, how and what they want to spend on. 

For example, a customer may not buy their preferred TV brand if their bank has a personalised TV deal – with a non-bank partner – that's more attractive. That same customer may even opt for a tablet if it comes with a year's free Netflix subscription.

How you will save

The future of saving is a mix of the old and the new, and something in between. There’ll be no more one-size-fits-all when it comes to savings, and the customer wins. 

• FDs, FDs, FDs

How, and how much, the consumer saves, is determined by sentiment. Given the “cautious optimism” prevalent among Asean consumers, fixed deposits (FDs) and other relatively low-risk products such as short-term bonds, will remain the saving instrument of choice in the near future. 

• Alternative play

During the low- to zero-interest rate environment, many alternative players such as digital banks and fintech companies entered the market to cater to customers looking for a place to deposit their money. Over time, alternatives have become attractive options. 

For example, local-based fintech start-up Chocolate Finance, which launched last year, offers to pay 4.5 per cent per annum for the first $20,000 and 3.5 per cent for subsequent amounts.

• Saving combos

Traditional financial services institutions are fighting back with “saving combos” that allow customers to upsize their savings. For example, UOB’s One Account offers up to 7.8 per cent per annum interest to encourage customers to save a portion of their salaries with the bank. One Account customers also get up to 10 per cent cashback when they use the UOB One Debit Card for their daily spending.

How you will invest

The future of investing is both exciting and challenging. As retail investors get bombarded with information on investing, they need to know how to convert the information into actionable investing knowledge.

• Redefining investing needs

The future of retail investing is not just about using the right financial products and services to achieve and preserve financial wealth. “Investing” will encompass all aspects of wealth and health. The customer will expect their financial adviser to access all products and services – healthcare, travel, education – that cater to their different life phases.

• Market democratisation power

The World Economic Forum refers to “market democratisation” as “the increased ability of an individual to access capital markets, related to the newfound availability of information, investing platforms and investment products”. The retail investor will learn better and faster, as they can readily access information.

The challenge is to convert the information into investing knowledge that they can act on. The retail investor will be freed and empowered, and this will create bottom-up pressure on banks, brokerages, and institutions to educate – and keep up with – their customers.

This is the first of a 12-part series in partnership with