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19 Feb, 2019

Asia-Pacific countries global leaders in mobile payments, report finds

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE), 15 Feb 2019 — A new report highlights the growth in online and mobile payment services in Asia-Pacific. The report, entitled Asia-Pacific Online Payment Methods 2019, accents the potential growth of mobile wallets and showcases digital buyers’ payment preferences in Asia-Pacific’s top markets.

The nations of the Asia-Pacific region are the global leaders in mobile payments. More than one in two smartphone users are expected to pay using a mobile device in 2019, high above the worldwide average, reports the researcher. In China alone, more than half a billion people use mobile payment services such as Alipay and WeChat Pay to transact in online and brick-and-mortar stores. Even in cash-dominated societies such as India, mobile wallets help to drive the growth of digital payments and reduce the share of cash transactions.

Due to the growing popularity of digital wallet services, more than 50% of ECommerce transaction value in Asia-Pacific is attributed to alternative payment methods, according to the data cited in the report. Nevertheless, in countries including Japan and South Korea, plastic is still king, with a high usage rate among online shoppers. Other popular online payment methods include bank transfer, which is popular in Indonesia and Thailand among others.

Amidst digital payment growth, competition among key market players remains intense, heated by an inflow of investment into Asian FinTechs. Despite rivalry from third-party providers, traditional banks and other financial corporations also partake in this digital payments boom, including in Japan and Australia where these institutions have rolled out their own tap & pay and other mobile wallet solutions.

For more information about the report: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/tp9ll3/online_payment?w=4