We talk about the rise of payments during and post the pandemic, and in particular digital payments.  This increase in payment transactions has attributed more value to the segment, and this has been good for incumbent firms who accessed funding from the capital markets.  This has also resulted in many new entrants, along with new business models. 

Alongside the new activity there was also the consequence of regulations, and the regulators have been busy with writing new regulations and also enforcement.  Payment regulations are now being drafted and updated across APAC to account for the many developments in payments.  The changes in the industry are so great that it is becoming harder to keep track with the updates and also with what is key to focus on. 

EPA Asia has also had another busy year, running more events that ever, and generally being more engaged with the payments community.  We celebrate the wins.  

EPA completed 5 submissions to regional regulators.  The regulatory group also completed evaluating Corlytics ‘Payment Regulations Tracker’.  We had market updates from Japan, China and India. 

The Cross-Border payments group had the most expansion in 2021, seeing 3 projects come to live during the year within the group.  The leading initiative has been the 6 Global Payments Forum events, on themes from the G20 Roadmap through to Payments in the cloud.  The inaugural Asia Fintech Payments Forum was also held where 9 regional fintech associations assembled.  And finally further discussions were held about the planning on the Transparency in Payments workshops, planned for 2022. 

The Digital Identity working group has delivered the White Paper on “Digital Identity Framework in APAC”. 

And, as we look forward to 2022, and some would say potentially into the metaverse, we will continue to focus on payments in their various forms. 

1.       The AFPF will be moving forward in 2022 with further collaboration with regional fintechs, who are considering APAC payments. 

2.       The Cross-Border working group will be overseeing the trends in cross-border payment improvements, and the work that continues with the Global Payments Forum. 

3.       Open Data will come into focus as a theme which looks to explore how fintechs will work better with incumbent data providers. 

4.       Regulatory working group will be focusing on the regulatory priority list, as well as building on the submissions from 2021. 

And now the question for you is how do you want to get involved? What will your new year's resolutions in payments look like?