Payment trends in Asia are changing how businesses and people transact — from the digital-first economies of China and Singapore to the quickly changing markets of Indonesia and Vietnam.
This shift is not merely a matter of convenience; it is emblematic of an increasingly complex convergence between state-of-the-art technology, consumer desires for seamlessness, and the region’s particular socio-economic landscape.
Emerging trends such as cross-border payment systems and open banking initiatives are breaking down traditional barriers, fostering greater connectivity and efficiency in Asia’s financial landscape.
However, the rapid progress comes with challenges. The shift toward digitised payments brings heightened concerns about cybersecurity, fraud, and regulatory compliance. As Asian markets surge, they face the dual challenge of safeguarding digital infrastructure while ensuring financial inclusion and bridging technological gaps between advanced and developing economies.
This article explores five key trends changing how we pay today while pushing the narrative for a more efficient, powerful financial ecosystem in Asia.
1. China Leads Again in Digital Payment Adoption

Digital payment adoption is soaring across Asia, with CNBC highlighting the region’s leadership in this segment, driven largely by Southeast Asians emerging as the most avid users of digital wallets.
As of June 2024, China maintains its leadership in digital wallet adoption, with over 88% of mobile internet users— approximately 969 million individuals — engaging in mobile payments. Back in 2023, digital wallets accounted for 82% of China’s e-commerce spending and 66% of physical purchases, totalling around US$7.6 trillion in transactions, CNBC reports.
Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate China’s digital payment landscape, making it the largest and most influential wallet market globally, according to Worldpay’s The Global payments Report 2024.
In Southeast Asia, digital payment transactions are projected to exceed US$1 trillion by 2025. According to a study by Bain & Company, Google, and Temasek, 53% of industry experts believe that consumer tech platforms, rather than pure-play fintechs, are more likely to drive disruption in financial services.
In 2023, credit card payments comprised 52.2% of all cashless transactions in Japan. However, the country has shown that its consumers’ reliance on credit cards and electronic money has gradually decreased, while QR code and barcode payments have experienced remarkable growth.
Meanwhile, the Economic Times reported that the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) facilitated over 15,547 crore transactions worth INR 223 lakh crore (US$258.59 billion) in India from January to November 2024. In 2025, UPI is expected to become an omnipresent network, transforming connected devices into potential payment endpoints through messaging platforms like WhatsApp.
2. Real-Time Payments Bridging Asia Pacific Borders
Real-time and cross-border payments are becoming a reality, thanks to regional collaborations and technological advancements. Project Nexus of Singapore, for example, aims to connect real-time payment systems across the region, further facilitating seamless cross-border transactions. This initiative demonstrates the growing focus on regional collaboration in the payments sector.
Meanwhile, corporate efforts, such as Visa’s initiatives to enable QR code payments across borders, are further driving the adoption of real-time cross-border payments.
Real-time payments are surging across Asia-Pacific, are expected to grow from 49.2 billion in 2022 to 96.2 billion by 2027. Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay have established a successful cross-border linkage, while Malaysia’s DuitNow and Indonesia’s QRIS integration has been operational for a few years already.
This trend is driven by a combination of regional cooperation, corporate innovation, and technological advancements, setting the stage for a more interconnected and efficient financial ecosystem in the region.
3. Embedded Finance Hailed as the Future of Fintech
The embedded payments market is expected to reach a global transaction value of US$2.5 trillion by 2028, according to a LexisNexis study. In Asia, the adoption of embedded finance is creating opportunities across diverse sectors.
China, a global leader in digital wallet adoption, has its embedded finance market seamlessly integrating payments into consumer apps at scale thanks to its extensive digital wallet adoption. Platforms like WeChat and Alipay allow their users to conduct transactions for everyday purchases, transportation, and even healthcare services effortlessly.
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is another backbone of embedded payments. The transformative impact of UPI underscores the potential of integrated financial systems.
With nearly 300 million individuals and 50 million merchants in India relying on UPI for transactions, it has become the country’s most widely used payment method, the World Economic Forum reports. Its influence is now reaching beyond India’s borders, with countries like Singapore and the UAE adopting the system, marking its growing global presence.
In Japan, while cash is still widely used, embedded finance is starting to gain momentum and expected to hit US$ 36.29 billion by 2029, according to Business Wire. Rakuten has also introduced its own cryptocurrency wallets and exchange systems there, bringing embedded finance to new levels by allowing Rakuten Cash balance recharges via Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The global embedded finance market is projected to reach US$384.8 billion by 2029, while traditional banks stand to gain $92 billion in additional revenue from SMEs through embedded finance by 2025, LexisNexis also reports.
Key benefits of embedded finance include faster payment processing, improved operational efficiency, lower costs, and higher customer satisfaction, making it an attractive proposition for financial and non-financial businesses alike.
As Asia continues to lead global payment trends, embedded finance is unlocking new possibilities for innovation, inclusivity, and growth, positioning the region as a pioneer in shaping the future of financial services.
4. Open Banking APIs Are Shaping the Future of Payments

Open banking is on the brink of rapid expansion in Southeast Asia, though progress varies across countries. This trend is fostering innovation and competition in the financial services sector.
In Singapore, the government-backed API Exchange is promoting API standardisation. Indonesia’s Standard National Open API (SNAP) , on the other end, was launched to support the country’s Indonesian Payment System Blueprint (BSPI) 2025 initiative, with the purpose to drive efficiency for bank digital payments.
In Hong Kong, HSBC introduced its first open banking feature on the local HSBC HK app, enabling its clientele to view account balances from Bank of China Hong Kong and Hang Seng Bank in real time. This was enabled via the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Interbank Account Data Sharing (IADS) initiative.
Open banking APIs has the potential bolster B2B payments in the region. According to PYMNTS, APIs could potentially solving the complexity around account payable, account receivables, approval workflows and more, enabling more efficient and secure transactions between businesses, which is typically just one part of the entire process.
In the context of B2B payments, APIs allow financial institutions, payment processors, and business software platforms to seamlessly integrate payment capabilities into their existing systems. By simplifying the integration process, it lowers the barriers for businesses to adopt digital B2B payment solutions, enabling smoother transitions and greater accessibility.
This development could likely to have a significant impact on the overall payments ecosystem in Asia.
5.The Need for Robust Cybersecurity Measures to Combat Financial Crime
Southeast Asia’s digital economy is on track to exceed USD 300 billion in gross merchandise volume by 2025, presenting significant financial crime challenges, reports PwC. Non-bank financial service entrants, new to the system, often lack the robust cybersecurity infrastructure necessary to combat sophisticated cyber threats.
This deficiency is exacerbated by the growing consumer demand for faster payments with minimal checks, increasing vulnerability to financial crimes. The adoption of preventive technologies like biometrics and in-session analytical solutions is essential for comprehensive protection.
Mastercard has made efforts underway to phase out passwords with tokenization and biometrics by 2030 while in terms of Asian countries adopting the digital identity, Singapore is a pioneer with Singpass, a Smart Nation initiative.
Using biometrics, Singpass enables secure and convenient access to 800+ government agencies and businesses and over 2,700 services. Meanwhile, Malaysia is making steady strides with its MyDigital ID initiative, paving the way for advanced digital identity solutions, including eKYC verification in the near future.
Notably, while Singapore and Malaysia rank high globally for cybersecurity based on the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020, other Southeast Asian nations like Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia are ranked 99th, 131st, and 132nd out of 182 countries, respectively, PwC reports also.
This disparity suggests a pressing need to enhance cybersecurity across the region. Implementing digital IDs and related authentication mechanisms can play a pivotal role in counteracting criminal activities.
A unified approach against financial crime is essential, and reliance on cross-border digital IDs may be key to eradicating synthetic ID fraud. Increased sharing of tactical information through intergovernmental or public-private partnerships could enable greater financial transparency and build stronger defences against financial crime.
Asia’s Digital Financial Frontier – Opportunities and Challenges Ahead
As we look towards 2025 and beyond, it’s clear that Asia’s payment landscape is at the forefront of global financial innovation. The region’s embrace of digital wallets, real-time payments, BNPL services, cryptocurrencies, open banking, and advanced cybersecurity measures is creating a dynamic and interconnected financial ecosystem.
This transformation is not just about convenience; it’s about financial inclusion, economic growth, and technological leadership.However, with great innovation comes great responsibility. As these trends accelerate, regulators, businesses, and consumers must work together to ensure that this digital financial revolution remains secure, inclusive, and sustainable.
The challenges of cybersecurity and regulatory compliance loom large, but so do the opportunities for unprecedented financial access and economic empowerment. Asia’s payment trends for 2025 paint a picture of a region that is not just adapting to the future of finance, but actively shaping it.
From China’s dominance in digital payments to the rise of cryptocurrency in Vietnam and Indonesia, from the cross-border innovations in Singapore and Thailand to the BNPL boom across Southeast Asia, the region is setting the pace for global fintech innovation.
As we navigate this rapidly evolving landscape, one thing is certain: the way we think about and use money is changing forever, and Asia is leading the charge. The future of payments is not just digital – it’s dynamic, diverse, and decidedly Asian.
Source of image: edited from Freepik