Rapyd Research Identifies Rising Digital Payments Winners Across Asia Pacific

Rapyd Research Identifies Rising Digital Payments Winners Across Asia Pacific

 

The Rapyd 2020 Asia Pacific eCommerce and Payment Study conducted in March and April across seven countries in APAC reveals the most frequently used and preferred payment methods of 3,500 consumers
Singapore, 11 June 2020 – Rapyd, a global Fintech as a Service company, has released its 2020 Asia Pacific eCommerce and Payment Study. The study analysed the financial habits, payment methods, considerations, and preferences of consumers in seven Asia Pacific countries, uncovering how consumer buying expectations and behaviours are evolving in an increasingly digital world.

 

The research, conducted in March and April 2020, surveyed 3,500 online consumers – 500 respondents per country in India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The results highlight a quick rise of new payment technologies that have emerged in recent years and gained rapid adoption and popularity by offering a convenient payment experience, adapting to local context, and providing access to digital payments for traditionally underbanked communities.
The study helps businesses gain insights into consumer buying habits and payment diversity in Asia, helping eCommerce and mCommerce businesses increase their addressable audience and include new customer segments into the Internet economy by adopting the most relevant digital payment options, as buyers go increasingly cashless during the current health crisis.

 

E-commerce and mobile-commerce in the seven countries is worth some $355 billion, as presented in the study. Southeast Asia’s internet economy hit $100 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to $300 billion by 2025.

 

Joel Yarbrough, Vice President for Asia Pacific, Rapyd said “Since the beginning of the global pandemic, going digital is no longer optional. eCommerce is now the new baseline. All over Asia, we see stratospheric growth in digital payment methods, with local patterns and local winners in every country. With this report, Rapyd provides businesses with the local market insights on payment behaviors, brands of choice, and technologies that are critical in creating a relevant checkout experience for consumers today.”

 

Challenge for Card-Only Merchants

 

While cards and card-powered mobile wallets are dominant in Japan (61%) and Taiwan (51%), across markets, there is a dramatic uptake of eWallets and bank transfers as preferred ways to pay.

 

Taken together, eWallets and bank transfers represent the emerging wave of payments – particularly where they are enhanced by interoperable Real-Time Payment (RTP) systems like India with UPI (64%) and Thailand with PromptPay (62%). Even in a card-preferring market like Singapore, together eWallets and bank transfers, including PayNow, are preferred by 42% of respondents, swinging all the way to 78% in Indonesia.

 

Key findings for each country include:

 

Singapore

 

• Real-time bank payments are on the rise: PayNow and FAST bank transfers are rising in importance as concerns about coronavirus converge with several years of government investment.
• PayNow is in #2 spot among the top payment methods with 70% of respondents using it in the last month.
• GrabPay is the 3rd most popular payment method after Credit Cards and PayNow.

 

Indonesia

 

• OVO Wallet is the #1 frequently used payment method with 69% respondents claiming to have used it in the past month, and the country’s most preferred one with 17.8% respondents choosing it amongst all payment brands.
• Indonesian consumers strongly prefer ewallets to cards and cash with 33.8% choosing one of three eWallets (OVO, Go-Pay, or Dana) as their preferred way to pay.
• Real-time bank transfers including both virtual accounts and older bank redirects are preferred 44% of the time on the archipelago.

 

Malaysia

 

• Bank transfer by Maybank2U, owned by Maybank, the largest bank in the country, is the most popular online payment method by usage (65%) and preference (21.4%).
• eWallets including Touch N Go, Boost, PayPal, and GrabPay are all of rising importance with 22% respondents choosing them as their preferred payment methods.
• Cash on Delivery remains relevant with 65% users claiming to have done it in the past month, prior to the Movement Control Order (MCO).

 

India

 

• 85% of Indian respondents used Paytm in the last month.
• With the growth of India’s UPI payment scheme, eWallets (including Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay) are preferred by 51.2% of users and bank transfers by 11.9%.
• Debit and credit cards together are preceded by 28% of respondents.
• 49% of respondents make online purchases daily (highest among all countries surveyed).

 

Japan

 

• Most consumers still prefer credit cards and cash over the counter.
• Amongst mobile payment methods, the PayPay eWallet is rapidly gaining popularity with 41% users claiming to have used it in the past month, and 9.6% choosing it over all other payment methods.

 

Taiwan

 

• Credit cards continue to be the top payment method in Taiwan both in terms of usage and preference.
• Consumers appear to use multiple payment types depending on the use case, with preferences split almost equally between credit cards, pay-on-pickup at convenience stores, bank transfers, local Easycard, and eWallets.

 

Thailand

 

• The TrueMoney eWallet is the leading payment method with 66% of respondents using it regularly, and 16.8% choosing it over any other payment method.
• Together, eWallets and bank transfers make up the most popular payment methods chosen by 62.2% users – a trend accelerated by the interoperable PromptPay payment scheme.
• Cash is still preferred in highly digital Thailand by 19.4% of respondents.

 

Consumers in the region and current conditions continue to push businesses towards digitalisation and as digital adoption accelerates, it is essential for businesses to invest in the right technologies to build a strong online presence supporting mobile and social commerce trends catering to each market. This localisation is the key to sustaining the business in the time of the COVID-19 crisis, and for speedier recovery and further long-term growth.

 

Access the Rapyd Asia Pacific 2020 eCommerce and Payment study here.

 

About Rapyd

 

Rapyd does for fintech what the cloud did for IT. It has built the world’s largest local payments network to power frictionless global commerce. Innovative ecommerce companies, technology firms, and marketplaces use their Fintech as a Service platforms: Collect, Disburse, Wallet, and Issuing to seamlessly integrate payment capabilities into their applications. The Rapyd Global Payments Network covers 900+ locally preferred payment methods, including bank transfers, ewallets, and cash in more than 100 countries. Now businesses can open new markets, create new fintech applications, and reach four billion consumers worldwide without thinking about infrastructure or regulations. Investors include Stripe, General Catalyst, Oak FT, Tiger Global, Durable Capital, Target Global, and TaL Capital. For more information, visit www.rapyd.net, read our blog, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

SHARE THIS STORY

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email

RELATED POSTS

Cultos Global Lands Major Investment to Advance Web3 Brand Engagement Solutions

Cultos Global Lands Major Investment to Advance Web3 Brand Engagement Solutions

Dubai-based Web3 company, Cultos Global, has recently acquired substantial investment in its latest funding round. The specific amount remains undisclosed. This venture specializes in altering the dynamics of brand-customer relationships by launching a sophisticated, integrated platform that intertwines digital marketing and customer rewards, converting conventional consumers into active nano-influencers.

Navigating the Growing Crisis of Space Debris

Orbital Fallout: Navigating the Growing Crisis of Space Debris

Ever since we stepped into the space age back in the 1950s, we’ve been busily sending rockets and satellites up, up and away, painting our mark way beyond our planetary borders. But here’s the thing—our ventures have left the cosmos littered with about 2,000 operational satellites and another 3,000 that are just space junk now.

Pryon Secures US$100 Million in Series B to Advance AI in Knowledge Management

Pryon Secures US$100 Million in Series B to Advance AI in Knowledge Management

Pryon Inc., a North Carolina-based company specializing in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) with knowledge management, has completed a Series B investment round, raising US$100 million. The funding was led by Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), with contributions from both new and existing investors, including Aperture Venture Capital,

Amazon Launches Upgraded AI Enhanced Fire TV Sticks

Amazon Launches Upgraded AI Enhanced Fire TV Sticks

Amazon has rolled out a series of updates to its Fire TV offerings. The new features include an improved conversational voice search powered by generative AI and Fire TV Ambient Experience advancements. Among the latest hardware releases are the Fire TV Stick 4K Max and the Fire TV Stick 4K, incorporating the enhanced Fire TV Ambient Experience.

Interactive Learning with Augmented Reality

Interactive Learning with Augmented Reality: Applications, Benefits and Challenges

Ever wondered what it would be like if your textbooks could talk, if the illustrations in your lessons could come to life, or if you could step into history rather than just read about it? Welcome to the world of augmented reality (AR) in education! Like a magic wand, AR can turn the abstract into tangible and the mundane into extraordinary, unfolding boundless educational possibilities.