Small businesses play a vital role in Asia Pacific’s economy, accounting for the majority of enterprises and a significant share of employment. McKinsey Global Institute highlights that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) represent over 90 percent of all businesses globally, contribute about half of total value added, and employ more than two-thirds of the workforce.
As these businesses become more digitally connected, their expectations of financial services are changing just as rapidly. Owners no longer want generic, one-size-fits-all products; they want services designed around their operational realities, tools that make managing cash flow easier, lending faster, and payments seamless.
Across APAC, small business banking is undergoing a marked shift as more small and medium businesses embrace digital channels as their primary point of engagement. Mobile apps and web platforms are no longer seen as supplementary options but as the central hub for managing finances, accessing credit, and making payments.
BPC recognised as a Luminary in Celent’s APAC evaluation
In its Small Business Digital Banking Platforms: Asia Pacific 2025 Edition report, Celent evaluated leading vendors based on their technology and breadth of SME banking capabilities. BPC was named a Luminary, the highest designation, placing it at the top right of Celent’s evaluation matrix.
Celent cited BPC’s SmartVista Digital Banking platform for its advanced microservices architecture, rich API framework, and extensive out-of-the-box features, noting that these capabilities allow banks to innovate and scale without sacrificing performance or security.
“SmartVista’s modular, cloud-native design lets our APAC clients launch and iterate at speed, whether they are rolling out everyday banking, wallet services or full-scale SME propositions,” said Imran Vilcassim, Global Chief Commercial Officer, Digital Banking at BPC.
How the SMB banking environment is evolving across APAC
Small businesses in Asia Pacific face a different set of pressures compared to retail banking customers, and the stakes are high. In markets like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, many small businesses operate with lean teams and minimal IT support, making it essential for their banks to provide solutions that are fast to deploy, easy to configure, and flexible enough to scale as the business grows. That’s showing up in payment behavior: APAC leads the world in real-time payments and QR adoption. Indonesia’s QRIS now serves over 57 million users and 39.3 million merchants, 93% of which are MSMEs; Vietnam’s QR payments more than doubled in 2024; and the Philippines’ InstaPay and PESONet volumes and values surged again by 37% in 2024–25 as per BSP report. These rails matter to SMBs because they enable instant settlement, low acceptance costs, and easy onboarding.
At the same time, SMBs in mature markets such as Singapore or Australia expect sophisticated tools that can integrate smoothly with their accounting systems, e-commerce platforms, and digital payment gateways. In Singapore, the government is phasing in an e-invoicing mandate for GST-registered businesses, pushing banks and PSPs to offer invoicing-to-payments integration; In Australia, the RBA reports that in October 2024 mobile wallets made up 44% of device-present transactions, 54% for cards, and 2% card insertions; 39% of debit and 33% of credit transactions were via wallets.
Despite this diversity, a common obstacle remains: many banks continue to rely on disconnected systems that create disjointed experiences and slow product rollouts. This can be especially challenging when trying to serve small businesses that need immediate access to credit during seasonal demand spikes, or merchants that want to introduce new payment methods quickly to stay competitive. Limited infrastructure also constrains the ability to deliver advanced analytics, consolidated payment capabilities, or personalised insights, capabilities that could help a business manage cash flow more effectively or identify growth opportunities.
Celent’s research shows a clear movement toward modern platforms that support composable services, operate in real time, and unify digital channels. Without these capabilities, institutions risk losing relevance as SMBs increasingly favour providers that can offer frictionless onboarding, instant payments, and tightly integrated financial management tools that match the pace of their business.
What sets BPC’s SmartVista digital platform apart
Compared to other vendors in Celent’s evaluation, SmartVista distinguishes itself by combining functional depth with flexible architecture. The platform brings together everyday banking, SMB-focused tools, merchant services, digital wallets, and agent support on a single, cloud-ready infrastructure.
Its no-code environment enables banks to create and adjust small business product journeys without prolonged development cycles. This means a faster response to market changes, customer needs, and regulatory requirements. Built-in capabilities include biometric onboarding, cash flow prediction, personal finance tools, virtual cards, QR acceptance, and loyalty features, with security embedded throughout via tokenisation, digital identity validation, and role-based access control.
Supporting businesses at every stage of their journey
With more than 30 percent of its digital banking customers based in APAC, BPC has a strong regional presence and deep understanding of local market needs. SmartVista’s scalability means it can support businesses from micro-enterprises to larger SMEs, adapting to each stage of growth.
As small business banking continues its digital shift, institutions need more than just a vendor, they need a partner who can help them deliver secure, personalised, and proactive services without adding complexity. Being named a Luminary in both retail and small business digital banking underscores BPC’s commitment to empowering financial institutions with technology that meets today’s demands while enabling long-term innovation and growth.
To learn more about SmartVista and why Celent named BPC a Luminary, visit https://www.bpcbt.com/celent-retail-digital-banking-platforms-apac-bpc?hsLang=en