Across Asia-Pacific (APAC), e-commerce merchants are missing out on billions of dollars each year due to cart abandonment, foreign exchange (FX) costs, and settlement delays. Cross-border payment firm Payoneer estimates that these inefficiencies collectively represent an estimated US$72 billion in annual value exposure across key APAC markets.
Cart abandonment, where buyers abandon checkout when authorization attempts fail, preferred payment methods are unavailable, transactions are declined by issuers, or final pricing outcomes change unexpectedly at the point of payment, accounts for an estimated US$28.53 billion annually in India, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, and South Korea. This represents almost 40% of total leakage and is the largest single source of lost revenue.
FX, payment costs, and conversion leakage arises as a cross-border transaction moves through payment service providers (PSPs), card networks, FX providers, and correspondent banks. Each of these intermediaries retains a share of value, eroding margins, and slowing liquidity. Payoneer estimates that this creates an estimated US$25.96 billion in annual value exposure, representing 36% of total leakage.
Finally, settlement delays trap cash in transit for days or weeks as funds pass through PSPs, acquiring banks, correspondent banks, and platform payout schedules. This results in losses of an estimated US$17.7 billion annually, accounting for 24.6% of total leakage.
Recommendations for reducing leakage
Though Asia already drives 62.6% of global e-commerce growth, according to marketing research firm NielsenIQ (NIQ), e-commerce merchants can unlock additional cross-border trade by replacing fragmented processes with controlled, end‑to‑end systems. Payoneer identifies four stages to follow.
First, merchants must identify where value leaks across the payment settlement lifecycle, and pinpoint failed or downgraded transactions. Next, they must modernize money flow by consolidating intermediary relationships and automating reconciliations, thereby achieving end‑to‑end control.
Third, e-commerce merchant must strengthen acceptance by integrating local payment methods in each market, and showing prices in the shopper’s native currency, turning checkout into a conversion advantage. Finally, merchants should focus on accelerating liquidity by allowing for funds to be moved across borders in minutes rather than days. They should also hold and deploy currencies intentionally, and maintain real‑time visibility into liquidity and settlement.
By adopting these practices, Payoneer says merchants can substantially reduce cart abandonment, minimize FX and payment‑related leakage, and eliminate settlement‑delay losses, unlocking significant revenue potential across the APAC region.
Market outlook
APAC is home to some of the world’s biggest e-commerce markets, like China and South Korea, alongside the fastest-growing Southeast Asian economies. According to the e-Conomy SEA 2025 report by Bain, Google and Temasek, e-commerce gross merchandise value (GMV) reached US$185 billion across Southeast Asia’s ten biggest economies in 2025, marking a 19% increase over the previous year. Forecasts project GMV to surge to US$359 billion by 2030.
Video commerce is emerging as a major driver of the region’s e-commerce market, now accounting for roughly 25% of total GMV, up from just 5% in 2022. By merging video content with shopping experiences, video commerce creates engaging online shopping experiences, boosting conversion rates. A global Nielsen MMM meta analysis shows that YouTube drives 2.3-times higher long-term return on ad spend than paid social.
Adoption among merchants is also soaring. In 2025, the number of sellers and stores in the region using video surpassed 3 million, marking a 80% year-over-year (YoY).
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik
