FinTechOn 2026 and the Asia FinTech Alliance (AFA) Summit concluded in Taipei after a two-day program held on Sept. 2 and 3. In her closing remarks, AFA Chair and Taiwan Fintech Association honorary chairperson Tsai Yu-ling said one of the strongest signals from the event was that fintech is no longer just a topic for financial institutions or technology companies. Supply-chain businesses that actually use financial services, she said, have started to present clear and urgent demands.
Tsai said global trade and global supply chains have become major application areas for fintech, with demand from companies rising quickly for tools tied to cross-border transactions and treasury management. Some of those topics, she said, already meet the conditions for launching proof-of-concept, or POC, projects. Compared with last year, she added, corporate attitudes toward new fintech applications have changed sharply. When some companies were invited to take part last year, certain participants still felt the technology was far from day-to-day business needs and that existing bank services were sufficient. This year, around half of the summit’s sponsors came from the supply-chain sector, and companies were not merely sponsoring or attending as observers. Senior decision-makers showed up in person and expressed a willingness to evaluate, and in some cases invest in, related applications.
As Tsai put it, this is no longer a situation where fintech providers alone are trying to find use cases. “Customers have already moved, and we should move faster too,” she said.
Officials from four Taiwan ministries and agencies frame fintech as part of industrial transformation
The summit brought together senior representatives from four major Taiwan government bodies: Financial Supervisory Commission Chairperson Peng Jin-lung, Ministry of Digital Affairs Deputy Minister Yang Chia-ling, Ministry of Economic Affairs Deputy Minister Chiang Wen-jo, and National Development Council Deputy Minister Peng Li-pei. Their remarks covered financial regulation, AI infrastructure and trusted governance, industrial digital transformation, and cross-border investment strategy, outlining how Taiwan is approaching fintech policy and practical implementation while seeking stronger international links.
Across the event, both government and industry participants broadly agreed that the next stage of innovation cannot be completed by any single market on its own. Markets including Taiwan, they said, need to keep aligning with international standards while balancing innovation, safety and trust, and deepen cooperation in regulation, technology, capital and market access. AI, blockchain and fintech were presented as tools that can connect financial services with the real economy and global supply chains.
Regulators and experts focus on AI, stablecoins and cross-border coordination
Regulators and experts from multiple jurisdictions also shared practical perspectives during the summit. Participants included Taiwan’s FSC, Bank Negara Malaysia, former Indian officials, and experts with regulatory experience in Hong Kong. Discussions covered virtual-asset and stablecoin regulation, AI governance in finance, cross-border payment risks and regional coordination, all centered on how to support innovation without weakening market trust.
The conversation also incorporated the needs of emerging markets for financial inclusion and technology-driven innovation, along with lessons accumulated by mature financial markets in risk management, consumer protection and crisis response. Across FinTechOn 2026, one challenge came up repeatedly: when capital, data and risk move across borders at speed, regulation cannot stay fragmented. Speakers called for stronger regulatory alignment, information sharing and joint response mechanisms so that technologies such as AI and stablecoins can be deployed safely and support a more inclusive, resilient and trusted fintech ecosystem in Asia.
Taiwan’s AI supply-chain position becomes part of the fintech discussion
Taiwan’s role in the global AI and semiconductor supply chain featured prominently. Lo Chao-sheng, standing director of the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA), said that according to National Development Council data, roughly 90% of the world’s AI servers are assembled and shipped by Taiwan manufacturers, while Taiwan companies account for about 76% of global foundry revenue. He said those figures show Taiwan’s place in the global AI economy.
Corporate leaders from the front line of the supply chain also addressed the summit, including Test-Rite Group founder and chairperson Lee Li-chiu, Wiwynn chairperson and chief strategy officer Hung Li-ning, Pegatron chairperson T.H. Tung, Chenbro Micom chief executive Chen Ya-nan, and JMicron Technology general manager Chang Hsiu-mei. Their comments drew on experience in cross-border trade, AI infrastructure and electronics manufacturing to describe the financial needs companies face.
These executives said that while data, production and logistics can now operate in real time, capital, credit and trust mechanisms still have not caught up with the speed of global supply chains. In their view, fintech should no longer sit outside corporate operations as a supporting tool. It should be built into core processes including orders, production, logistics, financing and payments.
Summit discussions went on to examine how AI, blockchain and stablecoins could improve cross-border clearing and settlement, supply-chain finance and information transparency, while opening practical use cases in business-to-business transactions and real-world asset, or RWA, tokenization aimed at lowering costs and raising efficiency. At the same time, participants said any real deployment still has to account for financial security, personal privacy, institutional governance and monetary sovereignty, with trust as the organizing principle.
Financial and payments firms push digital transition, but legacy integration remains central
As FSC Chairperson Peng Jin-lung said in his opening remarks, Taiwan and global financial markets are moving toward a three-track model in which traditional finance, digital finance and blockchain finance develop in parallel.
The summit included Taiwan institutions such as Cathay Financial Holdings and China Development Capital, as well as international financial and payments groups including JPMorgan, SBI Holdings, Visa, Banking Circle and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, or RCBC, of the Philippines. Topics ranged from digital-asset custody and financing to bank consortium stablecoin issuance, cross-border clearing and payment interoperability, and financial inclusion. The common thread was how incumbent financial systems are responding to digital transition.
Sandra Ro, chief executive of the Global Blockchain Business Council, said stablecoins, tokenized deposits and bank-led digital currency models are all being developed and tested at the same time, and the market has not yet determined which model will ultimately prevail. The real issue, she said, is not simply launching new digital tools. It is how to connect them to existing treasury, payment and compliance systems so that trade confirmation, document verification, compliance review, goods delivery and cash settlement can work together within a trusted framework. That, in her view, is what would allow separate market experiments to become scalable cross-border financial infrastructure.
AFA looks to move from forum discussions to action
From regulators discussing governance, to supply-chain leaders focusing on efficiency and long-term cooperation, to banks and fintech firms looking at how old and new systems can connect, the summit covered a wide range of sectors. The common element running through those discussions was trust.
Participants said technology can accelerate the movement of funds, data and goods, but innovation will not scale across markets without workable regulation, interoperable rules and systems, verifiable and integrable information, and a shared understanding built through repeated exchanges and practical cooperation.
This was the second time the AFA Summit has been held in Taipei. Tsai said AFA members represent 16 Asian economies, and the group can clearly see that other markets are also moving aggressively on fintech solutions. For multinational supply-chain companies, she said, the treasury tools and financial services they need do not have to come only from Taiwan. If other markets move faster, companies may naturally choose to source those services elsewhere. “If you don’t do it, other countries will,” she said.
Tsai said that challenge also points to AFA’s next role. Because Asian economies differ in industrial structure, financial demand and regulatory conditions, she said AFA should not remain only a platform for exchanges. It should build a regional fintech ecosystem that links demand, technology and resources across markets. She said AFA plans to push related work through task forces so that cross-border cooperation moves from conference discussion to practical execution.
She closed the event with the line, “We have to have action together,” saying the participants could not stop at listening, discussing and trading views inside the venue. Demand has to be turned into action, she said, adding that she hopes next year’s conversations on the same themes will focus not only on new trends but also on concrete progress and results achieved by Taiwan and Asia’s fintech cooperation over the coming year.
About AFA and the Taiwan Fintech Association
According to the event materials, the Asia FinTech Alliance is a voluntary international cooperation platform focused on regional financial innovation, policy dialogue and industry connectivity. It was formed by 16 leading fintech associations and organizations in Asia, with one representative association or organization for each economy. Those economies are Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.
The materials said international reports project Asia to become the world’s largest fintech market by 2030. Through dialogue, joint initiatives, cross-border cooperation and matchmaking, AFA aims to support more inclusive, secure and sustainable fintech development and promote greater regulatory consistency across the region.
The Taiwan Fintech Association, or TFTA, is a nonprofit organization established in 2017 to support fintech development and innovation in Taiwan. It works with government agencies, industry stakeholders and international organizations, and is described as an important platform for connection, cooperation and industry development. TFTA is also a formal member of AFA, and the strategic partnership between the two is presented as part of Taiwan’s effort to take a more active role in the broader Asian fintech sector and expand its influence globally.