Digital solutions continue to redefine shopping and payment habits across Southeast Asia, the annual Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes study has revealed.
Nearly four in five Southeast Asian consumers plan to use cashless payment methods more often, particularly those in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
According to the eighth edition of ‘Navigating a new era in Payments’, one reason for this could be due to three in four consumers perceiving cashless methods as a safer way to pay, especially in Thailand and Vietnam where more than 80% of consumers believe this to be true.
In the region, Singapore heads Malaysia in cashless payments, while the digital payment methods most driving the shift to cashless include mobile wallets (52%), card payments by swipe/insert (47%) and contactless card payments (44%). Usage of card payments for online transactions (57%) is also high, the study said.
Introducing the study, Group Country Manager, Regional Southeast Asia, Serene Gray said: “The past year has been one of transition. Economies have been building on momentum created by the acceleration of digital payments usage during the pandemic, as consumers and businesses are pulled into an increasingly hyper-digitalised world.
“With more ways to pay, and more places for commerce to happen, the digital economy in Southeast Asia is projected to hit USD1 trillion by 2030.”
