Financial Services is boosting revenues for the most prominent high-tech startups of the 500s of Southeast Asia

However, all of the most prominent internet platforms in the region have climbed to the rankings of the year. seaNo. 15 This year’s No. 5 in the Southeast Asia 500 reached $16.8 billion, up about 30% from the previous year.

Singapore grab Also, 24 locations rose, reaching 128th place on this year’s list, earnings of $2.8 billion. And the fellow ride platform Gotobased in Indonesia, 13 spots jumped with billion dollar sales.

All three platforms can quote one specific business to promote success these days. This is a financial service. None of these companies started as true fintech companies. Sea focuses on gaming and e-commerce, but Grab and Goto started with ride and delivery. However, financial services have proven to be a simple and potentially advantageous path for high-tech companies in the region.

Financial services are part of the ocean business, but are growing rapidly. Sea’s Digital Financial Services Division, Recently rebranded For Monee, last year it rose nearly 35% to $2.4 billion. Sea’s carried that momentum into 2025. Monee’s revenues reached $787.1 million in the first quarter, growing 57.6% year-on-year.

As of March 31, 2025, the outstanding purchase of consumers and loan principal was $5.8 billion, an increase of 76.5% from the same period a year ago.

Monee launched e-Wallet in 2014 and has since expanded to services such as credit, banking, and Insurtech. A large portion of SEA’s digital financial revenue and operating profit is driven by the credit business of consumers and small businesses.

SEA also owns two digital banks. Malibank, operated in Singapore, and Seabank, operated in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Grab’s Financial Services was also the fastest growing business on its riding platform last year, with revenues rising 44% to $253 million. Again, that momentum came in 2025, with financial services revenues rising 36% year-on-year in the first quarter.

Like Sea, Grab first launched its financial services business with e-Wallet. The company is currently offering loans to drivers and merchant partners, expanding GXS and GX Banks in Singapore and Malaysia respectively into digital banking spaces.

Grab’s total loans paid as of March 31, 2025 reached $566 million, an increase of 56% from the same period last year.

GOTO also has its own financial services app set up separate from its flagship ride service Gojek. Released in 2023, Gopay uses less mobile data than using Gopay via the Gojek app, making it easier for people with powerful phones to access. GOTO also holds a 22% stake in Bank Jago, an Indonesian digital bank.

GOTO’s financial services unit revenue almost doubled last year, reaching Indonesian rupiah ($230 million).

Why invest in financial services?

Financial services are still small businesses for seas, glabs and guthos when compared to key services, but for these tech companies it is a natural progression to try to serve a population that is still largely unbanked. The total margin of financial services is often higher compared to main services offered, such as e-commerce and rides.

These customers typically present a great risk to traditional financial institutions. However, high-tech platforms help to build a risk profile that can be used to assert data about users collected from e-commerce or on-demand services and determine creditworthiness, allowing traditional banks to discharge loans to population segments they don’t want to collaborate with.

Digital banks offer another way to attract more customers. Grab, Sea, or GoTo can encourage users of e-salvaised services to open new accounts in their digital banks. This will provide more data to these companies and ultimately begin offering other services, such as investments and insurance products.