Southeast Asia is home to over 650 million people, a young and digitally connected population, and one of the fastest growing loyalty markets on the planet. The Asia Pacific loyalty management market is forecast to grow from US$30.8 billion in 2024 to US$60 billion by 2029.1 Beneath the headline growth figures lies a less discussed story i.e., loyalty programs in this region are not just driving repeat purchases, they are becoming a gateway to financial inclusion for hundreds of millions of people who have never held a bank account.
This is a fundamentally different role for loyalty, and one that deserves closer attention from loyalty program designers, fintech leaders, and brands operating across the region.
Why Are So Many Southeast Asian Consumers Excluded From Financial Services?
More than six in ten Southeast Asians remain unbanked or underbanked.2 In Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, the combined rate exceeds 75%.3 Informal workers, estimated to account for over 70% of the regional workforce, often lack bank accounts, carry debt, and transact predominantly in cash. Without a formal credit history, they cannot access loans, insurance, or savings products.
Traditional financial institutions have struggled to serve this population. The requirements for credit scoring, physical branches, and formal documentation create barriers that exclude the people who need access most. Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which make up 97% of all businesses in the region and employ 69% of the labour force, face similar challenges (for example, over 60% of MSMEs cannot access a loan when they need one.)4
This is where loyalty programs enter the picture, not as a marketing tool, but as financial infrastructure.
How Can Loyalty Program Data Serve as an Alternative Credit Score?
Loyalty program data reveals financial behaviour. Transaction frequency, spending patterns, redemption habits, and engagement consistency paint a picture of a consumer’s reliability and economic activity. For someone with no bank account and no credit file, this behavioural data becomes the foundation of an alternative credit profile.
Super app ecosystems across Southeast Asia are proving this model works. Grab’s PayLater service uses platform activity data to extend credit to users who would be invisible to traditional banks.5 Consumers who consistently use GrabPay for rides, meals, and shopping generate a behavioural footprint that substitutes for a formal credit history. GoTo Group takes a similar approach, integrating loyalty benefits across Gojek and Tokopedia through GoPay-linked rewards, where ongoing engagement builds a data trail that unlocks access to micro-loans and insurance.6
The principle is not limited to super apps. Any loyalty program that captures transaction data, whether in retail, hospitality, telecoms, or food and beverage, holds the raw material to help members build a financial identity. This applies to points-based programs, tiered programs, and coalition models alike.
Some notable players in the region include:
- Boost (Axiata): Transformed from a wallet to a digital bank by using QR payment data to underwrite SME loans
- Grab & FICO: Partnered to enhance credit scoring for users using Grab app interaction data
- ShopeePay: Uses in-app purchasing behavior and transaction history for its BNPL arm, SPayLater
- FE Credit (Vietnam): A leading example using algorithmic scoring to drive consumer financing
What Role Does Loyalty Play in Delivering Microinsurance and Social Protection?
The evolution goes beyond credit scoring. In Southeast Asia, loyalty mechanics are being used to deliver microinsurance and social protection to populations that have never had access to either.
Grab’s driver-partners can accumulate up to S$200,000 of critical illness coverage for as little as S$0.30 per ride.7 This is not traditional insurance sold through a broker. It is insurance embedded within a loyalty and engagement framework, made affordable through micro-contributions tied directly to platform activity. The more a driver works and earns within the ecosystem, the more protection they accumulate.
This model inverts traditional loyalty design. Rather than rewarding consumers for spending more, it rewards participation with tangible financial security. For the millions of gig workers across the region (approximately 30% of Indonesia’s workforce alone8), this represents a genuine safety net built on loyalty infrastructure.
Malaysia’s Gig Workers Act 2025, which came into effect in early 2026, signals that governments recognise the importance of extending protections to this workforce.9 Loyalty programs that embed financial products within their earn-and-burn mechanics are well positioned to help platforms comply with these emerging regulations while deepening engagement.
Why Is Southeast Asia Uniquely Suited for Loyalty-Driven Financial Inclusion?
Several market characteristics create ideal conditions for this convergence of loyalty and financial inclusion.
Mobile-first behaviour
Smartphone penetration exceeds 70% across most markets, and consumers spend an average of eight hours a day online.10 Loyalty programs delivered through mobile wallets and super apps reach consumers where they already are, without requiring a bank branch visit or paperwork.
Super app dominance
Unlike Western markets, where loyalty programs typically operate as standalone schemes or coalitions, Southeast Asian consumers earn and redeem rewards across interconnected ecosystems of transport, food delivery, e-commerce, and payments. This creates richer, multi-dimensional behavioural data than any single-category program could generate.
Digital wallet adoption
The region has seen higher adoption of digital wallets, cryptocurrency, and NFTs than China, the USA, Europe, or Japan.11 Government initiatives like Malaysia’s DuitNow QR network and the Philippines’ push toward 80 million e-wallet registrations are accelerating the shift from cash to digital, creating the transaction data layer on which loyalty-driven financial inclusion depends.12
Regulatory momentum
ASEAN governments are actively building interoperable cross-border payment systems projected to increase digital transactions by 45% by 2026.12 As payment infrastructure matures, the opportunity for loyalty programs to serve as the engagement layer on top of financial rails becomes increasingly viable.
What Should Loyalty Program Designers Consider for Southeast Asian Markets?
For brands and program designers operating in or entering Southeast Asia, this trend carries practical implications.
Design for data richness, not just engagement
The programs that will matter most in this market are those that capture granular transaction and behavioural data. Every interaction, whether a purchase, a redemption, a referral, or a service usage, contributes to a member’s alternative financial profile. Program architects should consider how collected data could support credit scoring, insurance underwriting, or savings product eligibility.
Partner with fintech providers
Loyalty operators do not need to become banks. Partnerships with digital lenders, microinsurance providers, and e-wallet platforms can unlock new value for members while creating differentiated program propositions. The Starbucks and Grab partnership across six Southeast Asian markets, which links Starbucks Rewards with GrabRewards, illustrates how cross-ecosystem integration creates mutual value.13
Think beyond points and perks
In a market where 53% of shoppers constantly switch brands,11 traditional reward structures alone will not drive retention. Programs that offer members a pathway to financial products, whether microloans, insurance, or savings, create a stickiness that points-for-discounts cannot match. When a loyalty program helps someone access their first line of credit, that is a relationship that endures.
Localise for diversity
Southeast Asia is not one market. It is thirteen countries with distinct cultures, languages, religions, and regulatory environments. A loyalty program that works in Singapore may fail in Indonesia or Vietnam without meaningful adaptation. Halal-compliant wallet features in Malaysia, community-driven gamification in Thailand, and GoPay integration in Indonesia all reflect the need for hyper-local loyalty program design.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is loyalty-driven financial inclusion?
Loyalty-driven financial inclusion is the use of loyalty program transaction data, such as purchase frequency, spending patterns, and engagement history, as an alternative to traditional credit scoring. This data enables unbanked consumers to access financial products like micro-loans, insurance, and savings accounts that would otherwise require a formal bank relationship.
How does loyalty data work as an alternative credit score?
Loyalty programs capture granular behavioural data every time a member transacts, redeems, or engages. For consumers without a bank account or credit file, this data trail demonstrates financial reliability. Platforms like Grab and GoTo already use this data to underwrite micro-loans and extend buy-now-pay-later services to previously invisible consumers.
Which Southeast Asian countries have the highest unbanked populations?
Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia have the highest combined rates of unbanked and underbanked consumers, each exceeding 75%. Across the broader Southeast Asian region, more than six in ten adults remain outside the formal financial system, creating a significant opportunity for loyalty-driven financial services.
Can loyalty programs outside of super apps drive financial inclusion?
Yes. Any loyalty program that captures transaction data, whether operated by a retailer, telecom provider, airline, or hospitality brand, holds the raw material to help members build a financial identity. The key requirement is capturing granular, consistent behavioural data that can serve as an alternative credit profile.
What is microinsurance within a loyalty program?
Microinsurance within a loyalty program embeds affordable insurance products into the earn-and-burn framework. For example, Grab’s driver-partners accumulate critical illness coverage through micro-contributions of as little as S$0.30 per ride. The more a member engages with the platform, the more protection they build.
Loyalty & Reward Co is a leading loyalty consulting firm that helps brands design, build, and operate world-class loyalty programs. For a comprehensive overview of loyalty program theory and practice, explore Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide.
Sources
1. Mordor Intelligence (2026). Asia Pacific Loyalty Management Market. Market forecast at US$60B by 2029. mordorintelligence.com
2. World Economic Forum (2022). Closing Southeast Asia’s Financial Inclusion Gap. Over six in ten Southeast Asians remain underbanked or unbanked. weforum.org
3. National Geographic / Grab (2022). How Tech Is Empowering Southeast Asia’s Financially Underserved. Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia exceed 75% unbanked/underbanked rates. nationalgeographic.com
4. Tech for Good Institute (2021), cited in WEF (2022). Over 60% of MSMEs unable to access loans; MSMEs make up 97% of regional enterprises. weforum.org
5. CSIS (2021). Digital Growth and Financial Inclusion in Southeast Asia. Alternative data from e-commerce transactions used to prove creditworthiness. csis.org
6. GlobeNewsWire / Research and Markets (2026). Indonesia Consumer Loyalty Business Report 2026. GoTo integrates loyalty across Gojek and Tokopedia through GoPay. globenewswire.com
7. National Geographic / Grab (2022). Driver-partners accumulate up to S$200,000 critical illness coverage for S$0.30 per ride. nationalgeographic.com
8. John Clements Consultants (2025). Gig Economy in Southeast Asia. ~30% of Indonesia’s workforce are gig workers. johnclements.com
9. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre / Bernama (2026). Malaysia Gig Workers Act 2025 effective March 2026. business-humanrights.org
10. Macquarie Group (2022). Delivering Digital Financial Inclusion in Southeast Asia. 70%+ smartphone penetration; 8 hours/day online. macquarie.com
11. Loyalty & Reward Co (2023). Navigating Loyalty Programs in Southeast Asia. Higher digital wallet adoption than China, USA, Europe, Japan; 53% brand-switching rate. loyaltyrewardco.com
12. CoinLaw (2026). GrabPay Statistics 2026. Philippines targeting 80M e-wallet registrations; ASEAN cross-border payments projected +45% by 2026. coinlaw.io
13. PRNewswire / Research and Markets (2022). Indonesia Loyalty Programs Market Report 2022-2026. Starbucks-Grab partnership across six SEA countries. prnewswire.com
