High Trust, High Stakes — 84% of Southeast Asia Shows Fintech Must Earn Trust

How rapidly rising fintech confidence is setting the stage for the next wave of digital financial services in SEA

In a region where cash and conventional banking dominated for decades, a quiet truth is emerging: for fintech companies, trust is now the most valuable currency. According to a recent multi-country survey by UnaFinancial, an impressive 84.3% of respondents across four Southeast Asian markets including Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia — say they either “highly trust” or “somewhat trust” fintech platforms.

That level of confidence signals more than casual adoption. It reflects a shift in mindset. Across Southeast Asia, consumers are no longer experimenting with fintech as a novelty — they are treating it as a credible, often preferable, alternative to traditional banking.

This surge in trust matters because it may well mark the transition of the region’s fintech industry from its first phase (user acquisition and growth) to a new era of sustainable adoption, monetisation, diversification, and deeper financial inclusion.

In this article, we explore what exactly underpins this trust, how trust varies across markets, why now is a turning point, what this means for fintech growth and product strategy — and why the ecosystem in mature markets like Singapore might offer a replicable blueprint for the rest of the region.

What Drives Fintech Trust in Southeast Asia — The Trust Architecture

The UnaFinancial survey digs into what gives users confidence. The top factors cited:

• Security of financial data — 71.0%
• Transparent fees and terms — 69.6%
• Brand reputation — 64.5%
• Regulatory oversight — 64.0%
• User experience (UX) / ease of use — 62.6%

Far less cited were personal recommendations (38.5%) or past individual experience (30.4%).

Insight: This shows that Southeast Asian fintech users are not acting on hype or word-of-mouth alone. They treat fintech platforms like serious financial instruments — requiring clarity, security, and institutional credibility.

In other words — trust is being “engineered,” not marketed. For fintech firms seeking long-term growth, this demands a shift: from features and gimmicks, to clarity, compliance, and consistent user-centric design.

A Regional Mosaic — Four Markets, Four Trust Models

While the overall regional trust level is high, a deeper dive at country level reveals markedly different trust dynamics.

Singapore — Trust Built on Systems, Not Emotion

• Overall trust level: 91.8% (highest in the region)
  
• Distribution: 22.1% “high trust”, 69.1% “somewhat trust”, 8.8% neutral
  
• Key trust drivers: transparent fees/terms (60.3%), data security (58.8%), brand reputation (57.4%), regulatory oversight (55.4%), ease of use (54.4%)
  
• Influence of personal recommendations or past experience: lower (35.3% / 28.0%)
  

What this suggests: In Singapore — the most developed fintech ecosystem in SEA — trust comes largely from institutional and structural factors: regulation, digital literacy, robust infrastructure, and transparent market practices. Users don’t rely heavily on marketing or word-of-mouth; instead, fintech is evaluated like any serious financial service.

This positions Singapore not just as a market, but as a benchmark or blueprint for how fintech ecosystems can mature sustainably.

Philippines — Where Brand Speaks Loudest

• Overall trust level: 88.1% (second-highest)
• Strongest trust driver: Brand reputation — 73.8% of respondents cite it
• Close behind: data security and transparent fees (both 69.1%), followed by user experience (66.7%)
  

Interpretation: In a market still building institutional trust, perception, communication, and brand identity hold greater weight. For fintech companies operating here, success may come from localised branding, marketing, partnerships, and building visible credibility, in addition to core product reliability.

Vietnam — High Intensity Trust, Eager for Next-Gen Services

• Notable for having the highest share of “high trust” respondents at 37.2%
  
• Combined with 47.4% “somewhat trust” — a deeply engaged user base
  
• Key drivers: data security (76.9%), transparent fees (66.7%), user experience (60.3%)
  

Implication: Vietnamese fintech users show strong conviction, not just neutrality. This suggests a readiness to adopt Fintech 2.0 services — beyond wallets and payments, possibly lending, wealth tech, micro-investment platforms, and more advanced financial products.

Indonesia — Cautious Mass Market, Opportunity Through Clarity

• Trust distribution: 29.4% highly trust, 47.1% somewhat trust, 22.4% neutral, 1.2% “no trust”
  
• Largest neutral proportion among the four — indicates hesitation or cautious optimism
  
• Top concerns: transparency of fees (80.0%) and data security (76.5%), followed by brand reputation and ease of use
  

What it means: Indonesia remains a mass market with untapped potential, but users appear to demand more certainty and clarity before fully embracing fintech. Transparent pricing, data protection, and simple UX are likely to be decisive.

What 84% Trust Means for the Next Wave of Fintech Growth

The surge in confidence isn’t an end in itself — it’s a signal. For the fintech industry in Southeast Asia, this is the inflection point between first-generation fintech (payments/wallets) and next-generation financial services that scale sustainably.

🔹 Digital Payments Are Just the Starting Point

• Reports show digital payments — especially e-wallets, QR payments, mobile wallets — already form the backbone of fintech activity across SEA.
  
• As per a regional payments ecosystem analysis, digital payments are projected to grow significantly — reflecting increasing comfort with cashless transactions.
  

But high trust means users may now be open to more complex, higher-value services: digital banking, lending, insurance (InsurTech), wealth tech, micro-investments, remittances.

🔹 Expanding Product Lines — Embedded Finance, Lending, Wealth, Insurance

Analysts project that as fintech adoption deepens, embedded finance — where financial services are built into everyday digital platforms (e-commerce, wallets, apps) — will become standard. 

At the same time, digital lending and InsurTech are emerging as promising verticals. In markets with high trust and strong regulation, consumers may be willing to take credit, invest, or buy insurance — all via apps. 

🔹 Investment & Funding Environment Still Favourable

Even with global fintech funding cooling, Southeast Asia’s fintech funding has shown resilience. The recent growth metrics reflect continued investor confidence in the region’s potential.

Given surging user trust — which reduces one of the biggest risks for fintech adoption — the region becomes even more attractive for venture capital and growth-stage investments.

🔹 Digital Inclusion and Financial Deepening

Beyond tech-savvy urban users, high trust could pave the way for deep financial inclusion. Fintech can now reach underserved populations — rural, underbanked, migrant workers — offering secure, transparent access to payments, credit, remittances, and more. 

This broadens the addressable market and underlines fintech’s role in socio-economic development, not just technology adoption.

Singapore as the Regional Blueprint — What Other Markets Can Learn

Why does Singapore stand out? Several structural and regulatory reasons give it a clear advantage:

• It has a strong regulatory framework that balances innovation with consumer safeguards — for example, the Payment Services Act 2019 (PS Act), which regulates payment providers, digital payment tokens, money transfers, e-money issuance and other fintech services.
  
• High financial and digital literacy, widespread smartphone penetration, and trust in digital services — all contribute to a stable foundation for fintech adoption.
  
• Transparent fee structures, clear terms, and high service quality help build long-term confidence. According to the UnaFinancial data, fee transparency and data security are top trust drivers even in Singapore.
  

For other Southeast Asian markets — particularly those with lower institutional maturity — replicating this success won’t be about copy-pasting Singapore’s fintech products. Rather, it will require adapting the “trust architecture” to local realities:

• Clear regulatory guidelines and licensing frameworks
• Data protection laws and transparent disclosure norms
• Financial-education efforts and user-centric onboarding
• Localised branding and messaging to build reputation
  

If done right, fintech platforms can turn themselves into trusted financial utilities, not just apps chasing growth.

What to Watch — Signals of the Next Fintech Shift (2025–2030)

As fintech ecosystems in SEA evolve, several trends and inflection points will likely shape the next phase:

This next shift will likely mark the movement from “fintech adoption” to “financial empowerment and inclusion.”

Putting It Together — Why Fintech Must Earn Trust, Not Buy It

The 84% figure captured in the UnaFinancial survey is more than a headline statistic. It’s a bellwether. It marks the moment when fintech in Southeast Asia matured from being a technology fetish to a legitimate financial infrastructure.

For fintech firms: this is a call to action: success will not just come from growth hacks or aggressive user acquisition but from building trust, consistently, across features, operations, communication, and compliance.

For investors: the old metric of “downloads and sign-ups” will no longer be enough. User retention, engagement, monetisation, regulatory compliance and trust metrics will become the new signals of value.

For regulators and policymakers: this moment offers a chance to shape a stable, inclusive, and innovative financial ecosystem. With trust high, thoughtful regulation can guide fintech toward deep inclusion, protection, and long-term growth.

For consumers: this shift could democratise access to advanced financial services: credit, investments, savings, remittances, and more — all within a transparent, secure, and accessible digital-first environment.

Conclusion: The New Reality: Trust Is the Foundation

As the UnaFinancial data shows, Southeast Asia no longer sees fintech as a gamble. It sees it as a trusted financial channel.

In this new reality, trust is not a feature,  it’s the foundation.

Fintechs that design for trust not just growth and stand to lead the next wave of financial transformation. And those who underestimate the stakes may be left behind in a region where users are already holding their wallets to a higher standard.