China on tops in global fintech usage

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China has outperformed India and Britain to top the globe for financial technology (fintech) usage, according to a report by Ernst & Young (EY).

The country's fintech adoption rate came at 69% in an EY index that measures users activity in various areas, including money transfer, payments, investments, borrowing and insurance, the highest among 20 major markets around the world.

It was followed by India and Britain, which was gauged at 52% and 42%, respectively. The global average was 33%, more than double that of two years ago.

FinTech adoption rates across our 20 markets /EY Photo

The accounting firm believes China is leading the world in the widespread application of fintech, with new technologies and business models sprouting at an unprecedented pace.

"Efficient and convenient mobile money transfer and payments, especially in coastal areas, have become a new feature of China. They are the most widely-adopted fintech services and have deeply integrated into people's lives," said Jack Chan, EY Greater China's managing partner of financial service.

Chinese users also outshone their overseas peers for using fintech in deposits, investment and wealth management, Chan said.

Comparison of FinTech categories ranked by adoption rate in 2015 and 2017 /EY Photo

Percentage of digitally active customers who have used each product /EY Photo

EY predicted fintech would continue gaining momentum around the globe with the average adoption rate to increase to 52%. Emerging markets including South Africa, Mexico and Singapore are expected to pick up the pace.

The research was based on more than 22,000 online interviews on "digitally active" consumers who used two or more fintech services in the last six months.

Alibaba’s Ant Financial Services Group is one of the prominent users of "TechFin”, or fintech, in the financial industry. /China Daily Photo

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency