Ernst and Young: fintech cannot be stopped

China takes the lead on fintech in an international trend that's gaining momentum

China is the best fintech adopter and fintech won't be stopped, claims Ernst and Young. 

Fintech adoption is growing apace, with one in three digitally active consumers using financial technology in 2017, up from one in seven in 2015.

In its annual international survey, accountancy firm Ernst and Young found that fintech adoption had “risen dramatically” and reached a point where it “is significant enough… to suggest FinTech services have reached early mass adoption.”

Adoption was particularly strong in China, which topped the table for every category of fintech except insurance technology.

“A common assumption is that FinTech firms struggle to translate innovation and great customer experience into meaningful numbers,” the survey concluded.

“In contrast, our findings reflect considerable consumer appetite for new and innovative financial service products… Nowhere is that more apparent than in the historically underserved emerging markets.”

Among developed countries the UK fared best, followed by Australia. The US was dead average while Japan had one of the lowest adoption rates. In keeping with received wisdom, the survey found that millennials, 24 – 35-year-olds, were the quickest adopters.

According to the survey, the majority of fintechs operate in payments and money transfer, which accounted for 50 percent of the global fintech market. Lending, while constituting a large share of the fintech market in English-speaking countries, made up only 10 percent of the market globally.