While nine in 10 Asian financial leaders anticipate that digital finance will soon become an industry standard, more than half admit they lack the technical understanding to navigate this shift.

According to a new independent survey from HSBC of 3,000 international businesses and institutional investors—including 1,200 across Asia—a significant gap has emerged between the industry’s digital ambitions and its current capabilities.

The HSBC survey showed a profound conviction in the future of tokenization, with 91 percent of Asian respondents agreeing that digital and tokenized assets will become standard in treasury operations within the next five years.

However, more than half of these same leaders confessed they do not understand the technology enough to assess how their specific businesses will be impacted.

Jo Miyake, head of banking for Asia and the Middle East at corporate and institutional banking at HSBC, stressed the urgency of closing this knowledge gap.

“While an overwhelming majority of decision-makers believe that the adoption of digital finance is poised to skyrocket, momentum isn’t matched by readiness,” Miyake said.

As financial systems become more tokenized, “it’s incumbent on industry players such as HSBC to educate and prepare clients for not if, but how, they can innovate and scale via tokenization and other digital technologies,” he said.

HSBC noted that the push toward modernization is particularly visible in the Philippines, which it described as rapidly adopting digital and tokenized finance.

Banking on support from high mobile wallet usage and government initiatives, the Philippines is eyeing a “billion dollars opportunity in asset tokenization by 2030.”

To date, tokenized government bonds are already live in the Philippines, democratizing access for investors with entries as low as ₱500.

Despite the enthusiasm—with 89 percent of Asian respondents believing tokenization will improve market efficiency—some hesitation remains, as one in four leaders are either not prioritizing digital finance yet or are “awaiting clearer standards and regulation.” - Derco Rosal