Digital payments in the Asia-Pacific region - statistics & facts

In the Asia-Pacific region, digital payments are more common than not. Digital wallets are the most used payment method for both e-commerce and point-of-sale (POS) payments across the region. It is forecast that digital wallet payments will amount to three-quarters of e-commerce payment methods and over half of POS payments in the Asia-Pacific region by 2025. Currently, the transaction value of e-commerce payments outweighs that of POS payments; however, the gap is projected to decrease in the coming years. Moreover, digital remittances are a small but significant segment of digital payments as majority of Asian consumers use digital payments to send money to family and friends.

Leading markets and their characteristics

The Asia-Pacific region comprises varied markets in terms of digital payment usage rate, user demographics, and popular payment methods. China has the highest number of digital payment users and the highest penetration rate. In the past year, China amassed over 3,000 billion U.S. dollars in digital payment transactions. Usage of digital wallets for both e-commerce and POS payments was also the highest in China compared to the rest of the region. Japan, South Korea, and India had the following largest digital payment markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan and South Korean shoppers used credit cards the most as their preferred payment method for both e-commerce and POS payments. While consumers in India mostly used cash for POS payments, digital wallet was the most common payment method for e-commerce. The more mature markets like South Korea, Japan, and New Zealand had higher shares of their older population using digital payments in comparison to emerging markets in the region.

Cyber security

The leading reason why consumers prefer digital payments is convenience, followed by ease of learning and understanding. However, cyber security is a common concern among digital payment users. Most digital payment users take caution when using digital payments by implementing simple yet effective measures such as downloading apps only from official app stores or keeping the amount of money in the account to a minimum. Many users also take extra protective measures by using additional layers of protection or other security solutions. Regardless, many users fall prey to cyber threats. Even though fake websites and phishing scams are the most well-known cyber threats among consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, social engineering scams via text messages and calls were the most encountered cyber threat.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by S. Ganbold, Feb 27, 2024

Key insights

Transaction value of digital payments in Asia
4.37tn USD
Share of digital wallet payments as a share of e-commerce transactions
69%
Share of digital wallet payments as a share of POS transactions
44%
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