Alternative Payments Rise in APAC: India and China Lead in Alternative Payment Tools for E-Commerce Payments, Says GlobalData – Banking & Finance News

As payment solutions such as mobile and digital wallets replace traditional payment methods such as cash and bank transfers, alternative payments have become the most popular e-commerce payment tools in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, according to a report by GlobalData. China led the region in 2023, where alternative payments accounted for almost two-thirds of total e-commerce payment value in 2023.

Thanks to its popularity in countries such as China and India, alternative payments are also gaining popularity in other APAC markets. GlobalData’s e-commerce analysis found that even cash-heavy countries in the region, such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, are seeing a similar trend.

Shivani Gupta, senior banking and payments analyst at GlobalData, said: “While most Asian markets are traditionally cash-dominated, the use of alternative payment methods is growing in many markets in the region, both for online and in-store payments, outpacing Western markets . . This trend is driven by the growing availability of smartphones and the Internet, the increasing convenience of electronic payments and the spread of mobile and QR code-based payment solutions.

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Within the region, China and India are seeing higher adoption rates compared to their peers. According to GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey, alternative payment solutions account for over 65% of the value of e-commerce transactions in China. This represents a significant increase from 53.4% ​​in 2018. With mobile wallets such as Alipay and WeChat Pay now widely used in China for everyday transactions, China is leading the market.

In turn, India recorded the fastest increase in the share of alternative payments in the region, from 20.4 percent. in 2018 to 58.1 percent in 2023, thus taking second place. This significant use of alternative payment solutions can be attributed to the widespread adoption of mobile wallets, largely driven by UPI, which facilitates real-time mobile payments simply by scanning QR codes.

Other Asian markets such as Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines are also seeing high levels of use of alternative payment solutions.

Shivani Gupta added: “Alternative payment solutions have a huge share of e-commerce markets in many APAC countries, supported by increasing internet and smartphone penetration and growing acceptance of digital payments by merchants. With the convenience, speed and security they offer, coupled with the high expected growth of the overall e-commerce market in the region, these payment tools are expected to further gain popularity and disrupt the consumer payment space in the region.