The fintech industry in Asia is booming rapidly with the strong demand for digital transformation.
Asia accounts for nearly 50% of global fintech revenue, driven by digital payments, neobanking, and blockchain innovations. The region’s fintech investments reached over $40 billion in 2023 with countries like China, India, and Singapore leading the charge
As this sector grows, companies face pressure to innovate, scale, and deliver cutting-edge solutions. However, the shortage of skilled talent and the need for specialized expertise often hinder progress.
Hence, team augmentation has emerged as a strategic solution to address these challenges, enabling fintech companies to scale rapidly, reduce costs, and access global talent pools.
In this blog, we’ll explore the concept of team augmentation and how Asian fintech companies can scale by implementing this flexible approach.
Understanding Team Augmentation for Fintech Companies in Asia
Team augmentation is a staffing strategy where fintech companies hire external tech experts to complement their in-house teams.
Unlike outsourcing, augmented teams work directly with internal teams, ensuring better collaboration and knowledge transfer. The business has full control over the projects while accessing expertise on demand.
For fintech companies in Asia, this model is particularly valuable as the region’s fintech ecosystem is evolving rapidly. Companies often need niche skills like AI, blockchain, and cybersecurity, which may not be readily available in-house.
So, staffing external expertise through a team augmentation approach can help bridge the skill gaps without the long-term commitment of hiring full-time employees.
Benefits of Team Augmentation for Fintech Companies
1. Access to Specialized Talent:
Fintech projects often require expertise in emerging technologies. Team augmentation allows companies to onboard skilled professionals with specific technical knowledge, such as AI engineers.
For instance, you can hire a blockchain developer through team augmentation to build a secure, transparent loan verification system to reduce your processing time.
2. Cost Efficiency:
Hiring full-time employees can be expensive, especially for short-term projects. Team augmentation offers a cost-effective alternative, enabling companies to scale their teams up or down as needed. Augmenting external staff saves you on hiring, training, and overhead costs while scaling operations.
You can augment AI engineers to develop a risk-scoring algorithm instead of building an in-house team, reducing the overhead costs of hiring full-time employees.
3. Scalability and Flexibility:
Companies can quickly adjust team sizes based on project demands. Team augmentation provides the flexibility to adapt to changing project requirements and market demands. You can easily expand or reduce teams based on project needs.
For example, you can expand your development team to launch a new feature within two months, then let them go after completion without any commitments.
4. Faster Time-to-Market:
With access to experienced professionals, fintech companies can accelerate product launches to stay competitive.
For instance, a digital wallet provider in Thailand partnered with augmented data scientists to deploy a personalized rewards system within 10 weeks, gaining a 25% increase in active users.
Impact of Team Augmentation on Emerging Trends in Fintech
The fintech landscape in Asia is driven by technological advancements and shifting consumer needs. Several key trends are shaping the industry, creating new opportunities for team augmentation services to support growth and innovation.
AI and Machine Learning Expertise
AI and ML are transforming the fintech industry, enabling advancements such as real-time fraud detection, personalized financial services, and predictive analytics. The complexity of AI-driven solutions requires specialized skills, which can be challenging to source locally.
Fintech companies address this challenge by leveraging team augmentation to access experienced AI engineers, data scientists, and ML specialists.
With the support of augmented teams, they can accelerate solution development, train advanced machine learning models, and deploy AI-driven tools that enhance customer experience and security.
RegTech for Compliance
As regulatory environments grow more complex, regulatory technology (RegTech) has become a critical component for fintech operations.
RegTech solutions help companies manage compliance, monitor transactions, and meet reporting requirements more efficiently.
With evolving financial regulations across Asian markets, fintech companies turn to team augmentation to bring in RegTech specialists, compliance analysts, and software developers with deep regulatory knowledge.
Augmented teams ensure that fintech companies stay compliant, reduce regulatory risks, and adapt swiftly to new laws without disrupting business operations.
Sustainability and Green Finance
Sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles are gaining prominence in the fintech sector. Greentech initiatives, such as sustainable investment platforms and carbon footprint tracking tools, are driving financial inclusion with a focus on social impact.
Building ESG-compliant fintech solutions requires specialized knowledge of sustainability practices and ESG standards. By utilizing team augmentation, fintech companies can source experienced ESG consultants, sustainable finance analysts, and product developers.
The augmented teams help design, develop, and launch innovative solutions that align with ESG goals, enabling fintechs to contribute to a sustainable financial ecosystem.
Emerging trends in digital payments, blockchain, AI, RegTech, and green finance are shaping the future of fintech in Asia. Team augmentation services play a crucial role in providing fintech companies with skilled professionals needed to drive digital transformation effectively.
Case Studies: Team Augmentation Success in Fintech
Fintech companies in Asia are already implementing team augmentation services to either develop a new product or scale their existing products with new features.
Here are some of the examples of fintech companies across Asia that have scaled their projects without any hiring hassles or overhead costs within a limited timeframe.
Case Study 1: Enhancing Customer Engagement with AI-Driven Financial Advisory in Singapore
A leading digital bank in Singapore partnered with an augmented AI team to develop a cutting-edge financial advisory chatbot. The bank was facing challenges such as low customer engagement with existing digital channels, limited personalization in financial recommendations, and slow response times.
The dedicated IT staff comprising data scientists, ML engineers, and chatbot developers, integrated with the in-house team. They employed NLP and advanced machine learning, building an intuitive financial advisory chatbot.
Through a team augmentation approach, the bank was able to implement features like personalized recommendations, 24/7 assistance, and an interactive goal-tracking system. This resulted in increased customer engagement, boosting conversion rates by 30%.
Case Study 2: Strengthening Security and Speed with Augmented Cybersecurity Experts in Malaysia
A leading payment gateway provider in Malaysia integrated an augmented cybersecurity team to fortify its fraud detection systems. The company was struggling with rising incidents of payment fraud, and delayed detection leading to financial losses.
The augmented cybersecurity team, consisting of security analysts, data engineers, and AI specialists, collaborated with the company’s security operations center (SOC). They deployed AI-powered fraud detection models and automated threat response.
Augmenting external IT staff helped the company achieve its goal, of reducing fraudulent transactions and improving processing efficiency amid a rising volume of digital payments.
Team Augmentation for Fintech with Asterdio
Team augmentation is no longer just an option, but a strategic necessity for fintech companies in Asia. By leveraging this model, you can access specialized talent, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation.
At Asterdio, we specialize in providing tailored team augmentation solutions for fintech companies in Asia. Our pre-vetted talent pool includes experts in AI, blockchain, and cybersecurity. Whether you are launching a new product or scaling an existing platform, we can help you assemble the right team to achieve your goals.
Our approach is simple:
- Assess Your Needs: We work closely with you to understand your project requirements and business objectives.
- Match You with Experts: We identify and onboard professionals with the right skills and experience.
- Deliver Results: Our augmented teams integrate seamlessly with your in-house staff, ensuring smooth collaboration and successful outcomes.
As the fintech industry continues to evolve, companies that embrace team augmentation will be better positioned to thrive in a competitive landscape. Take your fintech business to the next level with the help of the right team augmentation provider.
Ready to scale your fintech operations with the right talent? Contact Asterdio today!
