Asia remains the most wallet-led payments region as A2A gains ground
Asia Pacific leads global payments as digital wallets dominate and A2A systems gain traction, reshaping how consumers and merchants transact across key markets.
Asia Pacific remained the world’s most wallet-led payments region in 2025, according to the latest Global Payments Report from Worldpay, now part of Global Payments. The report highlighted that digital wallets accounted for 77% of online spend and 63% of in-person spend across APAC, ahead of every other region, while account-to-account payment systems continued to gain traction in several markets.
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The findings point to a region where digital payments are no longer shaped by a single model. Wallet usage remains high, but the mechanics differ by market, with card-funded wallets still common in Hong Kong and Singapore, A2A-led (or account-to-account payments) systems gaining scale in India and Thailand, and superapp-driven models taking hold in markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Wallets lead, but market models differ
The report suggested adoption remained broad-based across the region. In India, digital wallets accounted for 68% of e-commerce spend and 61% of point-of-sale transaction value in 2025. In South Korea, wallets are forecast to overtake cards both in stores and online by 2030.
That growth is being supported by different payment structures rather than one regional standard. In some markets, wallets still sit on top of established card systems. In others, they are tied more closely to domestic bank transfer rails or wider app ecosystems.
Phil Pomford, General Manager, Global eCommerce, APAC at Global Payments, said, “Asia’s payment landscape is evolving faster than anywhere else in the world. Wallet adoption continues to surge, A2A rails are gaining scale across multiple markets, and interoperable QR standards are stitching the region into a unified, low-cost real-time payments corridor. This shift isn’t just changing how people pay, it’s reshaping cross-border trade, travel and digital commerce. Merchants that enable these preferred methods will be the ones who benefit most from the region’s accelerating digital economy.”
A2A systems push further into everyday retail payments
The report also highlighted the growing role of domestic real-time payment systems across Southeast Asia, particularly where QR-based payments have lowered merchant acceptance costs and simplified in-store use.
Thailand was identified as one of the clearest examples of that shift. PromptPay accounted for 44% of online spend and 43% of in-person spend in 2025, making it one of the most A2A-dominant payment markets tracked in the report.
Worldpay said interoperability between domestic QR-based systems is also making cross-border payments easier for both regional travellers and consumers shopping online across markets. That is gradually extending the relevance of domestic rails beyond local use cases.
Hong Kong and Singapore show two different paths
Hong Kong marked a notable change in payment mix. For the first time, digital wallets overtook cards as the leading payment method, accounting for 41% of e-commerce transaction value and 45% of POS value in 2025.
The report linked that change partly to the rise of A2A payments through the Faster Payment System and the Hong Kong Common QR Code. A2A payments represented 19% of e-commerce and 9% of POS transaction value in 2025, and Worldpay forecasts those shares will rise to 23% and 13% respectively by 2030.
Singapore, by contrast, remains more card-led at the point of sale. Cards accounted for 44% of e-commerce spend and 40% of POS spend in 2025, while digital wallets stood at 40% and 36% respectively. Even so, A2A payments are gaining ground. The report forecasts that A2A will reach 13% of e-commerce and 15% of POS transaction value in Singapore by 2030, supported in part by PayNow and its regional linkages with systems such as PromptPay and DuitNow.
Cross-border interoperability becomes the next layer
Beyond domestic usage, the report pointed to increasing regional coordination between payment systems. Singapore’s PayNow, Thailand’s PromptPay and Malaysia’s DuitNow were cited as examples of how linked real-time payment networks are creating alternatives to international card rails for selected use cases.
That matters less as a focus shift away from cards than as a practical change in how regional digital commerce can function. Interconnected systems built around instant transfers and QR payments can reduce cost and friction for merchants, while giving consumers a more familiar way to pay across borders.
