Mobile wallets have become a large and well-established market throughout the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, featuring over 60 active brands and platforms, alongside numerous bank-backed apps, according to a recent e-book by Thunes, a Singapore-based cross-border payment infrastructure provider.
While each market in APAC has its own nuances and consumer preferences, the region as a whole exhibits several defining traits, including the dominance of homegrown wallet providers, strong government influence in shaping the digital payment landscape, and the widespread rise of super-apps that integrate financial services with broader digital experiences.
Local champions lead
In most of these markets, domestic mobile wallets dominate, with China’s WeChat Pay, India’s Paytm, Indonesia’s GoPay, Japan’s PayPay, Thailand’s Truemoney, the Philippines’ GCash, and Vietnam’s MoMo being examples of that.
Their success reflects strong local preference, and is often driven by deep integration with local banking systems, supportive regulatory environments, as well as their ability to cater to the large unbanked and underbanked populations.
Global brands such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are also available in nearly all APAC markets but see the highest adoption in affluent, iOS-dominant countries such as Australia and New Zealand, where they rank among the top three mobile payment platforms. Samsung Pay is also active in many markets, but often with low adoption, except in its home market of South Korea, where it enjoys significantly stronger usage with a 42% share.
High concentration in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam
In countries like the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, the mobile wallet market is highly concentrated, with a single player controlling over 60% market share. GCash dominates the Philippines with an 89% share, Truemoney leads Thailand with 66%, and MoMo commands 63% in Vietnam.
These leaders have benefited from early-mover advantages, strong brand trust, government support, and integration with existing financial infrastructure, enabling rapid consolidation.
Fragmented markets in Singapore, Hong Kong
Conversely, markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong exhibit greater fragmentation. Singapore has 14 identifiable mobile wallets, in addition to bank mobile wallet apps. This market is dominated by bank-owned platforms, with DBS Paylah! leading at 26%.
Similarly, Hong Kong features 12 mobile wallets, where Alipay leads with a 23% share, followed by Apple Pay (20%), WeChat Pay (13%), and PayMe (11%).
This competitive diversity can be in part explained by regulatory encouragement for open ecosystems, and high fintech innovation. Combined, these factors foster an environment where multiple strong contenders can coexist, driving innovation and customer-centric services.
Government initiatives drive innovation
India’s mobile wallet landscape, once highly fragmented with numerous non-interoperable platforms competing for market share, was transformed by the 2016 launch of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the national instant payment system.
UPI introduced a standardized, interoperable platform that enables inter-bank transactions through mobile phones. This innovation democratized access to the payments ecosystem, spurred open competition, and gave rise to UPI-first apps.
Today, early adopters of UPI like Paytm, Google Pay and Phone Pe lead the Indian mobile wallet market with shares of 33%, 20% and 10%, respectively.
Indonesia moves towards standardization
Indonesia is also moving towards interoperability with the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS). QRIS is Indonesia’s standardized QR code payment system launched in 2019 to unify various QR code payment methods into a single, interoperable system. The system is designed to streamline digital transactions, reduce reliance on cash, and support the growth of Indonesia’s digital economy.
Rapid adoption of QRIS among merchants and consumers has led to intensified competition among digital wallets and banks, forcing players like GoPay, Dana and Ovo to innovate and expand their services beyond payments. Today, these players, which now offer feature like insurance, investments, and loans, lead the market with shares of 32%, 28%, and 23% market share, respectively.
Super-apps and broader digital ecosystems
A distinct feature of the APAC mobile wallet market is the rise of super-apps and digital ecosystems. China leads this trend with WeChat Pay and Alipay being integrated into super-apps that combine messaging, shopping, investments, and government services. This integration boosts stickiness and daily engagement.
Southeast Asia follows a similar trend with GrabPay, which is part of Grab’s ride-hailing, food delivery and finance app; GoPay, which is integrated into Indonesia’s Gojek ecosystem; Paytm and PhonPe in India; as well as LinePay, which is integrated into the popular Line messaging app.
Largest mobile wallets in select APAC markets by market share:
- Australia: Apple Pay (47%)
- Cambodia: Pi Pay (54%)
- China: WeChat Pay (46%)
- India: Paytm (33%)
- Indonesia: GoPay (32%)
- Japan: PayPay (50%)
- Laos: Pi Pay (54%)
- Malaysia: Touch ’n Go (51%)
- New Zealand: Apple Pay: (54%)
- Singapore: DBS PayLah! (26%)
- South Korea: Samsung Pay (42%)
- Taiwan: LINE Pay (48%)
- Thailand: TrueMoney (66%)
- The Philippines: GCash (89%)
- Vietnam: MoMo (63%)
Mobile wallet distribution in Asia-Pacific
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by jcomp via Freepik
