Most guides to Indonesian payments open with a wallet comparison. That is the wrong starting point, and it is the reason a lot of international merchants build the wrong integration.
Indonesia's payment market is built on two pieces of central bank infrastructure. QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) is the mandatory unified QR standard, in force since 2019 with full compliance required by 2023 [1]. BI-FAST is the real-time account-to-account rail, launched by Bank Indonesia in December 2021 [1]. Every wallet, bank app and payment provider in the country plugs into these two. The wallets compete on consumer experience above that layer, not on the rails themselves.
This matters commercially. Before QRIS, GoPay, OVO and DANA each ran incompatible closed-loop QR codes, and merchants had to display a separate sticker for every provider they wanted to accept [1]. Bank Indonesia ended that. One QR code at the counter now accepts payment from any connected app. The consequence is that the merchant acceptance question and the wallet question have separated: QRIS gives you acceptance breadth, and wallet integrations give you depth.
The adoption numbers are the fastest-moving in the region. Cash fell from 77% of point-of-sale value in 2019 to 36% in 2025, the sharpest decline of any Southeast Asian market [2]. QRIS transaction volume rose 163% year on year as of Bank Indonesia's July 2025 figures [3]. Indonesia's e-commerce market is projected to reach USD 94 billion in 2026, of which at least 97% is expected to be transacted through digital methods rather than cash [3].
QRIS reached over 40 million merchants and roughly 57 to 60 million users as of August 2025 [2]. Around 92% of QRIS merchants are micro and small businesses, which is the clearest signal of how deep the rail runs into the real economy [2].
Two design decisions explain the adoption speed. The first is that it is mandatory. Bank Indonesia did not launch QRIS as a competing standard and hope the market picked it. Every payment provider operating in Indonesia is required to use it [1]. The second is the fee structure at the bottom of the market: merchant discount rates on QRIS sit below 0.7%, and for micro-merchants processing under IDR 500,000 the rate is zero [4]. That waiver added 34.23 million new merchant outlets and lifted quarterly QR volumes by 148.5% in 2025 [4].
Bank Indonesia has continued extending the standard rather than replacing it. QRIS Tap, launched March 2025, brings the standard to NFC contactless payments [2]. Bank-to-wallet interoperability and smart transaction routing are both in the published pipeline [3].
For an international business, QRIS support is not a strategic choice. It is the baseline requirement for any consumer-facing acceptance in Indonesia.
QRIS gets most of the attention because it is the consumer-visible piece. BI-FAST is the one that matters more for anyone moving business money.
BI-FAST supports account-to-account credit transfers 24 hours a day, settling within seconds, with proxy resolution via mobile number, email or national ID [1]. It connects over 135 banks and payment providers and carries a flat fee of IDR 2,500 per transaction, which is what has pulled payroll and supplier payments away from the more expensive RTGS channel [1][4]. Per-transaction limits run to IDR 250 million for consumers, with higher ceilings for institutional use [1].
Sitting alongside BI-FAST, virtual accounts remain a major part of Indonesian e-commerce. Bank transfers through virtual accounts account for roughly 26 to 27% of Indonesian transactions, and they carry a trust function that wallets do not: for a first-time buyer transacting with an unfamiliar merchant, a bank-issued virtual account number reads as more credible than a wallet balance transfer [5].
That trust dynamic is why virtual accounts persist in a market this wallet-heavy. For international businesses collecting from Indonesian buyers, a named collection account does the same job that a domestic virtual account does, with the added benefit that each incoming payment self-attributes to a payer rather than landing in an omnibus pool that finance has to unpick by hand.
Indonesia is the only major Southeast Asian market with no dominant wallet. Four compete seriously: GoPay (inside the GoTo ecosystem of Gojek and Tokopedia), DANA (an Ant Group and Emtek joint venture), OVO (in the Grab ecosystem), and ShopeePay (inside Shopee).
Published market share figures for these four disagree with each other so sharply that quoting any single set of them without qualification would be misleading.
The practical conclusion is the same whichever survey you trust: no single wallet integration wins Indonesia. A merchant supporting only DANA, or only GoPay, is leaving a large share of the market unable to pay in their preferred way.
DANA specifically is worth understanding on its own terms, since it is the wallet this market is often introduced through. It launched in 2018 as a joint venture between Ant Group and Emtek, and it built on Ant's infrastructure at a point when that was a genuine technical advantage [7]. That advantage has narrowed. QRIS has commoditised the merchant payment experience, so any QR wallet now works at any QR merchant, and every major wallet has since invested in backend scale [7]. What DANA retains is a large registered user base, strength in bill payments, and cross-border acceptance in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand [8].
Where DANA differs from its rivals is what it is not: it does not sit inside a super-app. GoPay has GoTo's ride-hailing and e-commerce reach. OVO has Grab. ShopeePay has Southeast Asia's largest marketplace. DANA is a standalone financial wallet competing against three ecosystem-embedded ones [7].
The most consequential recent development is that QRIS no longer stops at Indonesia's borders.
QRIS is now interoperable with Thailand's PromptPay, Malaysia's DuitNow and Singapore's PayNow [2]. Bank Indonesia launched QRIS acceptance with Japan's PayPay and LINE Pay in August 2025, and added South Korea's KakaoPay to the cross-border programme in February 2026 [4]. Integration with China is in the pipeline.
Indonesia is also a founding member of Project Nexus, the BIS-led initiative to link real-time payment systems multilaterally rather than through a growing web of bilateral deals. Nexus Global Payments incorporated in Singapore in March 2025 [9].
For businesses with regional operations, this changes what a QRIS integration is worth. It is no longer only a way to accept payment from Indonesian consumers. It is increasingly a way to accept payment from regional consumers travelling into Indonesia, and for Indonesian consumers to transact outward. For the wider regional picture, our guide to e-wallets across Southeast Asia covers all six major markets and how their QR rails now interconnect.
Three things, in order.
Integrate QRIS first. It is the acceptance layer for the entire Indonesian consumer market and it is mandatory for any provider operating locally. Without it, the majority of Indonesian buyers cannot pay you the way they pay everyone else.
Add direct wallet integrations for depth. QRIS gives breadth. Direct integrations with GoPay, OVO, DANA and ShopeePay typically deliver better conversion and richer transaction data on e-commerce checkout, where the customer is in an app rather than at a counter [8]. Which wallets to prioritise depends on where your traffic comes from: ShopeePay if you are Shopee-anchored, GoPay if your buyers live in the Gojek ecosystem.
Do not skip virtual accounts. They still carry a quarter of Indonesian transaction volume and they do a trust job that wallets do not, particularly for first-time buyers and higher-value orders [5].
One structural note on market entry. Foreign payment providers require a PJSP (Payment System Service Provider) licence to operate in Indonesia, and most international businesses reach the market through a licensed local provider rather than by licensing directly [1]. Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 23/6/PBI/2021 governs the classification and compliance obligations of these providers [3]. This is worth understanding before scoping an integration, because it determines who your counterparty actually is.
Because foreign providers cannot operate in Indonesia without a PJSP licence, most international businesses reach the market through a licensed partner. Tazapay's payment gateway covers the methods that matter in Indonesia without a local entity: real-time payments through QRIS, the leading local wallets, and bank transfer, all in IDR. A single QRIS payment gateway integration gives reach across the wider market, while direct wallet support adds conversion depth. On the payout side, the same platform reaches Indonesian beneficiaries through local rails.
[1] PaymentBrief. "Payments in Indonesia: QRIS & BI-FAST." Data as of June 2026.
[2] Digital in Asia. "What is the State of Digital Payments Across Asia in 2026? A Comprehensive 15-Market Tracker." May 2026.
[3] 2C2P / IDC InfoBrief. "Popular Payment Methods in Indonesia: What Consumers Want." May 2026.
[4] Mordor Intelligence. "Indonesia Mobile Payments Market Size & Share Analysis." February 2026.
[5] Payments CMI. "Indonesia: Analysis of Payments and Ecommerce Trends." August 2025.
[6] Ipsos Indonesia. "Mapping the Digital Wallet Landscape in 2026." March 2026.
[7] Digital in Asia. "DANA: Ant Group's Indonesian Digital Wallet vs GoPay and OVO." June 2026.
[8] Fintech News Indonesia. "5 Top E-Wallets in Indonesia and What They're Best For (2026)." February 2026.
[9] BIS Innovation Hub. "Project Nexus: Enabling Instant Cross-Border Payments."
UPI processed 23.2 billion transactions worth Rs 29.9 trillion in May 2026, its highest month on record [1]. June 2026 ran over 22 billion transactions, up 23% year on year, averaging around 757 million per day [2]. India accounts for roughly 49% of global real-time payment transaction volume, more than three times Brazil's Pix at 14% [3].
Domestically it is the default rather than an option. UPI accounts for around 85% of India's digital payments by FY 2025-26, and 703 banks were live on the platform as of March 2026 [3]. NPCI's published figures exclude Credit Card on UPI and Credit Line on UPI, so actual usage runs higher than the headline suggests [1].
The composition tells you what those numbers describe. Person-to-merchant transactions make up around 63% of UPI volume, with average ticket size near Rs 1,348 [3][4]. Person-to-person transfers account for 71% of transaction value [3]. UPI is an enormous number of small consumer payments plus a smaller number of larger peer transfers.
That is a consumer retail profile, which makes UPI essential for one kind of business and largely irrelevant for another.
UPI is an addressing and routing layer built by NPCI on top of the Indian banking system, launched in April 2016. A user links a bank account to a Virtual Payment Address, then sends or receives funds using that address, a mobile number, or a scanned QR code. Settlement happens between banks in real time. The app is the interface, not the account.
That architecture is why the app layer is competitive while the rail is universal. PhonePe and Google Pay have historically held the large majority of UPI volume, and their combined share fell below 80% for the first time in May 2026, sitting at 79% as BHIM, Navi and newer entrants gained ground [3]. NPCI granted third-party application provider approvals to 20 companies in 2024 specifically to dilute that concentration [3].
Reach into smaller cities has been deliberate policy. Around 5.45 crore digital touch points were deployed through the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund across tier-3 to tier-6 centres as of 31 October 2025 [3].
UPI is the default and everything else is a supplement. At around 85% of India's digital payments, a checkout that does not offer UPI is asking Indian consumers to pay in a way they have largely stopped using [3].
The specific failure mode worth naming: a card-first checkout imported from US or European markets underperforms in India for structural reasons that have nothing to do with your product. Card penetration is low relative to UPI adoption, and the consumer reflex is to scan or select UPI.
RuPay is the domestic card network, and RuPay credit cards can now be linked to UPI, which blurs the boundary between the two rails. Visa and Mastercard retain relevance for higher-value purchases, corporate spend and international transactions.
Net banking persists for higher-value e-commerce and among consumers who prefer a bank-authorised flow.
One constraint changes checkout design directly. RBI rules restrict merchant storage of card credentials, and those rules apply to cross-border aggregators as well as domestic ones [5]. A returning-customer flow that assumes a stored card on file behaves differently in India, and that is a build decision rather than a configuration one.
Indian B2B payments run over the bank rails, and the choice among them is driven by value and timing.
NEFT handles the bulk of routine business transfers, clearing in batches through the day. RTGS carries high-value payments with individual settlement and a high minimum threshold, making it the instrument for large supplier and inter-company settlement. IMPS provides continuous availability at lower values than RTGS, and is the older real-time retail rail that predates UPI.
For an international business paying Indian counterparties, these are the rails your payout provider needs relationships with. A provider whose Indian capability is described in terms of UPI acceptance is describing a collection capability, not a disbursement one.
UPI does appear in B2B, but at the small end: sole proprietors, micro-businesses and self-serve purchases below the value where a finance function gets involved. It is not where invoiced business value moves.
Whichever direction you operate in, if you are a foreign entity collecting from Indian customers the rail question sits downstream of a licensing question.
Since the RBI's October 2023 circular, all entities facilitating cross-border online payments for Indian import or export are regulated directly by the RBI as Payment Aggregators – Cross Border (PA-CB) [6]. Before that, the activity sat with Authorised Dealer banks under the narrower OPGSP arrangement. The framework opened it to non-bank entities and brought them under direct RBI governance [6].
Three authorisation categories exist: export-only, import-only, and both [7]. A foreign business collecting from Indian buyers sits on the import side, because the Indian customer is importing a good or service.
Entry requirements are high. Non-bank PA-CBs need minimum net worth of INR 15 crore at application, rising to INR 25 crore by 31 March 2026, with Financial Intelligence Unit-India registration as a prerequisite [6][8]. Import-only PA-CBs must maintain an Import Collection Account with an AD Category-1 scheduled commercial bank [6].
By early 2026 the RBI had authorised roughly 19 to 25 entities [7][9]. Named holders include Cashfree Payments, Amazon Pay India, Adyen India, BillDesk, Razorpay, PayU and Worldline [7][9].
Two constraints inside the framework are worth checking against your own numbers:
The value cap. A maximum of INR 25,00,000 per unit of goods or services applies [5]. Ample for consumer commerce, and genuinely tight for enterprise contracts and larger service engagements.
Merchant KYC, tightened by the September 2025 Payment Aggregation Directions, which also brought a newly regulated offline PA category into scope [10].
We cover the corridor mechanics in detail in our blog on cross-border payments between the USA and India.
The outbound direction is a separate flow with separate treatment, and for many international businesses it is the larger one. India exports software development, IT services and outsourced business functions at scale, so foreign companies are frequently paying Indian entities rather than selling to them.
Outbound payments run over correspondent banking, or over domestic INR rails through a provider holding the relevant relationships. The practical questions are corridor coverage, settlement timing, and the quality of payment data arriving with the funds.
That last point is about to matter more. From 14 November 2026, SWIFT will reject cross-border payment messages carrying fully unstructured postal addresses, and the requirement flows upstream into payment initiation files. For anyone running volume payouts into India over SWIFT, beneficiary address data quality becomes an operational dependency. Our ISO 20022 November 2026 guide covers what changes and what breaks.
UPI is live in the payment infrastructure of eight countries outside India [11]. Bhutan came first in July 2021. The Singapore PayNow linkage went live on 21 February 2023 [11][12]. The UAE rollout began 3 July 2024 with acceptance at more than 60,000 merchant locations [11]. Nepal, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, France and Qatar follow, with work underway in Japan and Malaysia [11].
Merchant-side adoption lags the announcements. The PayNow linkage requires Singapore merchants to display hybrid QR codes with UPI interoperability, and many smaller merchants have not, because the economics do not justify it at their volumes [13]. Remittance volumes over these corridors are growing quickly from a small base, in the range of Rs 500 to 1,000 crore monthly [14].
These corridors are currently consumer and remittance instruments. They are strategically important and they are not yet a route for settling a supplier invoice.
If you sell to Indian consumers: UPI first, then RuPay and international cards, then net banking. Design for tokenisation constraints from the start rather than retrofitting [3][5].
If you collect cross-border from India: establish your provider's PA-CB authorisation and category before scoping anything technical, and check the INR 25 lakh per-unit cap against your invoice values [5][7].
If you pay Indian counterparties: your provider needs NEFT, RTGS and IMPS reach, not UPI acceptance. Get beneficiary address data structured before November 2026 if you use SWIFT at volume.
For businesses paying Indian suppliers, contractors and sellers, corridor coverage and payment data quality determine whether payments arrive cleanly or generate exceptions. For the wider regional picture, see our guide to payment methods across Southeast Asia.
For businesses selling to Indian consumers, Tazapay's payment gateway gives you a UPI payment gateway for accepting from Indian consumers alongside cards and other local methods without an Indian entity, so you serve the UPI-first majority at checkout rather than losing them to a card-only flow. For moving business value the other way, Tazapay reaches Indian suppliers, sellers and contractors through local rails, with the structured payment data that keeps high-volume payouts clean. The PA-CB authorisation and cap considerations covered above apply to any provider you evaluate.
[1] Open Magazine. "UPI Hits Record 23.2 Billion Transactions in May 2026, Rs 29.9 Trillion Value." June 2026.
[2] India Brand Equity Foundation. "UPI Transactions Rise 23% to Over 22 billion in June." July 2026.
[3] CoinLaw. "UPI Statistics 2026: 23.2 Billion Monthly Transactions and 49% of Global Real-Time Volume." June 2026.
[4] Meetanshi. "10+ Freshly Updated UPI Statistics for 2026." March 2026.
[5] PwC India. "Cross-border payment aggregators: Regulations and business use cases."
[6] LKS. "Cross-border payments for Indian businesses: Impact of RBI's new guidelines."
[7] EximPe. "The Complete List of RBI PA-CB Licensees in India 2026." March 2026.
[8] Enterslice. "Cross-Border Payment Aggregators: 2026 RBI Regulations." June 2026.
[9] EximPe. "PA-CB License India: RBI Payment Aggregator Cross Border."
[10] Ikigai Law. "RBI Rewrites the Payment Aggregator Rulebook." September 2025.
[11] GrabOn. "UPI Statistics (2016 to 2026 Data)." February 2026.
[12] Monetary Authority of Singapore. "Launch of Real-Time Payments Between Singapore and India." February 2023.
[13] TripCabinet. "UPI Singapore Payment Guide." July 2026.
[14] Product Growth. "UPI Market Data 2026: Every Metric That Matters." June 2026.
Singapore has among the highest digital payment adoption in Southeast Asia. PwC Singapore and the Singapore FinTech Association reported 92.0% adoption in 2025 [1]. Xero's consumer research found 30% of Singaporeans now pay by phone only, against a global average of 21%, and that 68% of Gen Z consumers prefer PayNow specifically [2].
What makes Singapore structurally different from its neighbours is where the volume concentrates. In Indonesia, four wallets compete above a state QR rail. In the Philippines, one wallet dominates outright. In Singapore, the rail itself is the destination. PayNow is used directly, from within any bank app, and the wallet tier that sits above it is fragmented across 14 or more identifiable providers with no clear leader [3].
That has a practical consequence for anyone building an acceptance strategy: in Singapore, wallet selection is a lower-stakes decision than it is anywhere else in the region. Getting PayNow right matters far more than picking correctly between GrabPay, ShopeePay and DBS PayLah.
The three names get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing.
FAST (Fast and Secure Transfers) is the underlying interbank rail. It moves SGD between participating banks and financial institutions in real time, and it is what actually settles the transaction [1].
PayNow is the addressing layer on top of FAST. Launched in 2017 by the Association of Banks in Singapore under MAS regulation, it lets a sender move funds using a proxy identifier rather than an account number: a mobile number, an NRIC or FIN, or, for businesses, a UEN [3]. Transfers settle in seconds, cost the sender nothing, and are available continuously.
SGQR is the display standard. It consolidates multiple QR payment schemes, PayNow among them, into a single printed code, so a merchant displays one label rather than one per provider [4]. It is important to be precise about this: SGQR is not a payment network. When a customer scans an SGQR label with their banking app, PayNow handles the transaction. If they scan it with GrabPay, GrabPay handles it. SGQR is the envelope, not the contents [4].
MAS has been extending SGQR into SGQR+, piloted from late 2023, which adds fee transparency and merchant-side reconciliation on top of the display consolidation [3].
PayNow's consumer story is well covered. Its B2B story is not, and it is the part that matters most for a business rather than a shopper.
PayNow supports addressing by UEN (Unique Entity Number), the identifier every registered Singapore entity holds. A business can be paid by another business, or by a customer, addressed to its UEN rather than to a bank account number [1][3]. Funds settle in seconds into the recipient's bank account.
This is what makes PayNow a genuine collections rail rather than a consumer convenience. Supplier invoices, vendor payments, refunds, one-off B2B transfers and internal fund movement can all run over FAST and PayNow when both parties hold Singapore bank accounts [1]. For a business collecting from Singapore counterparties, PayNow by UEN removes the reconciliation ambiguity of a bare bank transfer, because the payment is addressed to a registered entity identifier rather than an account string.
The constraint is in that conditional: both parties need Singapore bank accounts, and the payment settles in SGD. PayNow is a domestic rail. Which is where most international businesses hit the wall.
Singapore's wallet market is fragmented enough that published share figures do not agree with each other, and the disagreement is not worth resolving.
Digital in Asia puts DBS PayLah! in front at roughly 26% of wallet share, noting 14 or more identifiable mobile wallets plus bank-owned apps in the market [3]. Other trackers put GrabPay ahead. Xero's consumer research found 22% of Gen Z use GrabPay against 68% preferring PayNow, which suggests the entire wallet tier is competing for a slice of a market that has largely gone direct to the rail [2].
The defensible position is the boring one: support GrabPay and DBS PayLah as default, add ShopeePay if you are Shopee-anchored, and do not lose sleep over the rest [3]. Apple Pay and Google Pay route through the card networks rather than forming a separate rail, so a merchant accepting contactless cards already accepts them.
Cards remain necessary and are not going anywhere. Singapore has strong credit card penetration, and cards carry the higher-value end of e-commerce as well as most corporate and inbound tourist spend [5].
PayNow is one of the most cross-border-connected domestic rails in Asia. Four links are operational:
Singapore is also the headquarters of Nexus Global Payments, which incorporated in March 2025 to run Project Nexus, the BIS-led effort to link real-time payment systems multilaterally rather than through an ever-growing web of bilateral agreements [8].
It is worth being clear-eyed about what these links do and do not currently deliver. They work well for lower-value transfers and for in-person QR acceptance. Merchant-side adoption is uneven: the PayNow-UPI linkage requires merchants to generate and display hybrid SGQR codes with UPI interoperability, and a large share of smaller Singapore merchants have not done so, because the economics do not justify it at hawker-stall volumes [7].
More importantly for a B2B audience: large-value cross-border business payments still do not run over these rails. Corporate cross-border settlement into and out of Singapore continues to move over SWIFT, with settlement typically taking one to five business days depending on the correspondent chain [9]. The domestic real-time rails are genuinely excellent and they stop at the border.
This is the gap that matters if you are running a cross-border business rather than a Singapore storefront.
PayNow and FAST settle SGD between Singapore bank accounts in seconds. The moment a payment needs to leave Singapore in another currency, or arrive from outside it, you are back on correspondent banking infrastructure with a different cost and speed profile entirely.
For businesses collecting from international buyers into Singapore, a named collection account in the buyer's own currency avoids forcing the payer into a cross-border wire and gives finance an incoming payment that self-attributes rather than landing in an omnibus pool.
For businesses paying out from Singapore to suppliers, sellers or contractors abroad, the rail choice is corridor-dependent. SWIFT is the default and is well-suited to deep, well-served corridors. Local rails settle same day in the markets where a provider holds them.
One compliance note that is genuinely load-bearing in this market: every payment service provider operating in Singapore must hold a valid MAS licence under the Payment Services Act 2019 [4][10]. Operating through an unlicensed provider carries real regulatory exposure, and verifying licensing status is a reasonable thing to do before integrating.
PayNow is the required integration. Not optional, not a nice-to-have. It is how Singapore pays, and 68% of the youngest cohort prefer it over everything else [2].
Use UEN addressing for B2B collections. This is the piece most international businesses do not know exists, and it is what turns PayNow from a consumer transfer scheme into a business collections rail.
Keep cards. They carry the higher-value end of e-commerce and effectively all corporate and inbound tourist spend [5].
Treat the wallet tier as secondary. GrabPay and DBS PayLah as default. The fragmentation means no single wallet integration moves the needle the way QRIS does in Indonesia or GCash does in the Philippines [3].
Do not assume the domestic rails solve cross-border. They are excellent and they are domestic. Cross-border B2B settlement remains a separate problem with a separate answer.
For the wider regional context, including how Singapore's rails now interconnect with Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, see our guide to e-wallets and payment methods across Southeast Asia.
Singapore's domestic rails are excellent but, as covered above, they stop at the border. Tazapay's payment gateway gives businesses a PayNow payment gateway for collecting from Singapore buyers, while its named collection accounts and cross-border payouts handle the separate problem of moving money in and out of Singapore in multiple currencies without an entity in each market.
[1] WorldFirst. "9 Payment Methods in Singapore to Consider in 2026." June 2026.
[2] WorldFirst. "Digital Payments in Singapore: Methods & Trends in 2026." April 2026, citing Xero consumer research.
[3] Digital in Asia. "What is the State of Digital Payments Across Asia in 2026? A Comprehensive 15-Market Tracker." May 2026.
[4] HitPay. "SGQR Setup Guide for Singapore Businesses (2026)." June 2026.
[5] HitPay. "Payment Methods in Singapore: A 2026 Business Guide." July 2026.
[6] Digital in Asia. "State of Digital Payments Across Asia." May 2026, on the PayNow-PromptPay linkage.
[7] MAS. "Launch of Real-Time Payments Between Singapore and India." February 2023.
[8] BIS Innovation Hub. "Project Nexus: Enabling Instant Cross-Border Payments."
[9] HitPay. "Cross-Border Payouts for Singapore Businesses (2026)." June 2026.
[10] Monetary Authority of Singapore. Payment Services Act 2019.
Thailand is one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing digital economies, and its consumers are increasingly mobile-first. For international businesses selling to Thai customers, the recurring obstacle is not demand. It is checkout success.
Credit and debit cards remain important, but they often fall short. Transactions are declined more frequently, card coverage thins outside urban centres, and foreign exchange costs discourage buyers. The result is abandoned checkouts and lost revenue.
PromptPay, Thailand's national QR-based payment system overseen by the Bank of Thailand and National ITMX, has become the mainstream alternative. For businesses selling into Thailand, offering it alongside cards is now the difference between capturing a sale and losing it at the final step.
PromptPay adoption has grown to the point where it is an expectation at Thai checkout rather than a differentiator.
The trajectory shows PromptPay moving from a domestic initiative to a tool that international businesses need to support to compete for Thai customers.
The pattern is consistent across sectors: PromptPay succeeds where cards fail, so adding it captures transactions that would otherwise be abandoned.
E-commerce and marketplaces see high cart abandonment in Thailand from card failures and buyer hesitation. Offering PromptPay lets customers pay on the spot by scanning a QR code, which raises completed orders and reduces abandoned carts. PromptPay has become a default option for Thai shoppers.
Travel businesses face failed transactions at checkout, particularly on mid-value purchases like hotel reservations and tour bookings. PromptPay lets travellers pay on the spot in Thai baht with a familiar method and provides immediate confirmation, which raises booking confidence and reduces drop-offs.
Digital products and gaming serve one of Asia's most engaged digital populations, but micro-transactions and one-off purchases often fail on card-only checkouts. PromptPay lets small and mid-ticket purchases go through quickly and reaches younger buyers who may not hold international cards.
Education and edtech platforms find that many Thai students and professionals lack international-ready cards, which becomes a barrier to enrolment. PromptPay provides a widely trusted baht-denominated option that reduces failed-card drop-offs and expands reach for global providers.
Businesses that offer multiple payment options serve more customers and reduce payment risk. In Thailand specifically, adding PromptPay alongside cards produces four effects:
PromptPay complements cards rather than replacing them. Together they capture the widest possible customer base. The alternative, relying on cards or international transfers alone, means lost revenue from customers unwilling or unable to use cards, higher decline rates, checkout abandonment from friction, and the delays and costs of cross-border transfers that are unsuitable for small and mid-value transactions.
For the full picture of how PromptPay sits within Thailand's payment landscape, including TrueMoney, bank transfers and the wider wallet market, see our guide to local payment methods in Thailand.
The complexity of enabling PromptPay for a cross-border business sits in the setup, not the customer experience. A provider abstracts that complexity in a few ways.
Hosted checkout allows fast integration and go-live within days, suitable for businesses that want speed. White-label checkout gives larger enterprises a fully branded customer experience. Unified payments combine PromptPay with cards, other local payment methods and local bank transfers in a single integration. And crucially, the arrangement requires no Thai entity, which lets global businesses collect directly without establishing a local company.
Whether the priority is speed or brand control, the goal is the same: add PromptPay to lift authorisation rates and settle faster.
For businesses that also pay out to Thai suppliers, partners or sellers, the same local rails matter on the disbursement side. And for the wider regional view, see our guide to e-wallets across Southeast Asia.
[1] Mastercard and National ITMX. "Mastercard and National ITMX Announce Extended Collaboration in Real-Time Payments." March 2025.
[2] Payment Expert. "Thailand Expands PromptPay with Mastercard in New Deal." June 2025.
[3] Bank of Thailand. Payment Systems Statistics. 2025.
[4] Bank of Thailand. "Cross-Border Payment." 2025.
[5] Money and Banking Thailand. "QR Code Adoption in Thailand." 2025.
South Korea's mobile payments market is the most competitive in East Asia. Unlike China (where Alipay and WeChat Pay share a duopoly) or Japan (where PayPay dominates), Korea has three major wallets and strong card networks operating simultaneously [1].
The market reached $44.4 billion in 2025 and is forecast to grow to $48.3 billion in 2026, with daily wallet transactions hitting 29.71 million in the first half of 2024 [1]. Card networks (Visa, Mastercard, and Korean domestic card brands like Samsung Card and Shinhan Card) remain meaningful, particularly for higher-value transactions and international purchases. But for everyday spending, the wallet ecosystem is where Korean consumers live.
KakaoPay (Kakao Corporation) is the default payment app for most South Koreans because it is embedded within KakaoTalk, the messaging platform used by approximately 90% of the population. With over 36 million users, KakaoPay's integration into daily communication makes it the payment method with the lowest friction: users pay, transfer, and manage bills without leaving their primary messaging app [1].
KakaoPay covers money transfers, bill payments, online purchases, in-store QR payments, and insurance services. Its strength is the social layer: splitting bills, sending money to contacts, and paying merchants all happen within the same interface used for conversation.
For international businesses, KakaoPay is the single most important Korean wallet integration. Any checkout targeting Korean consumers without KakaoPay support is competing with one arm tied behind its back.
Toss (Viva Republica) is the most significant addition to the Korean payment landscape since our previous coverage. It started as a peer-to-peer transfer app and has expanded into a full financial super-app offering payments, banking, insurance, securities trading, and credit scoring.
Toss's user base skews younger than KakaoPay's and grows by offering a unified financial interface rather than embedding into a messaging app. For merchants targeting Korean consumers under 35, Toss integration is increasingly essential. Its bank (Toss Bank) and securities arm (Toss Securities) create a closed-loop ecosystem where users manage their entire financial life within a single app.
The competitive dynamic between Toss and KakaoPay is shaping Korean payments: KakaoPay wins on messaging integration and older demographics, while Toss wins on financial product depth and younger users. International businesses benefit from both, since the two platforms serve complementary segments.
Naver Pay is linked to Naver, South Korea's dominant search engine and the largest e-commerce platform through Naver Shopping. Users store payment credentials and pay with a single tap on Naver Shopping and partner merchants, reducing checkout friction and cart abandonment.
Naver Pay's strength is online commerce rather than in-store payments. For international businesses selling physical or digital goods to Korean consumers through e-commerce channels, Naver Pay integration directly impacts conversion rate on one of Korea's largest shopping platforms.
Samsung Pay holds a unique position because of its MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technology, which allows it to work at virtually any card terminal in Korea, not just NFC-enabled ones. This gives Samsung Pay broader physical acceptance than any QR-based wallet [1].
For in-store transactions, Samsung Pay captures consumers who prefer paying through their Samsung device at terminals that do not yet support QR codes or NFC. For online transactions, Samsung Pay functions similarly to other wallets.
The most significant development for Korean payments in 2025 was the KakaoPay-PayPay cross-border partnership, launched in September 2025. Japanese PayPay users can now make offline payments at over 2 million Korean merchants, and Korean tourists can use KakaoPay at PayPay's Japanese merchant network [1].
Additionally, Alipay+ extends PayPay's acceptance to 16 partner wallets across Asia, meaning GrabPay (SEA), GCash (Philippines), and Touch 'n Go (Malaysia) users can pay at PayPay merchants in Japan and, through the KakaoPay link, potentially at Korean merchants connected to the network [1].
For businesses operating across both Korea and Japan, this cross-border QR infrastructure reduces the need for separate integrations. For the equivalent breakdown of digital wallets across East Asia, including China, Japan, and Hong Kong, see our East Asia payments guide.
Three priorities for accepting payments in South Korea.
First, integrate KakaoPay as the primary wallet. Its reach across 90% of the Korean messaging population makes it the non-negotiable starting point. A payment gateway with KakaoPay integration through a Korean acquiring partner is the standard approach.
Second, add Toss for younger demographics. If your product or service targets Korean consumers under 35, Toss is increasingly the primary financial app for this segment. Naver Pay is essential if you sell through Naver Shopping or Naver-affiliated e-commerce channels.
Third, maintain card acceptance. Korean domestic card brands (Samsung, Shinhan, Hyundai, KB) plus Visa and Mastercard remain meaningful for higher-value transactions and B2B purchases. Cards and wallets together provide full coverage of Korean spending.
For businesses also paying out to Korean beneficiaries, South Korea is well-served by local rail disbursement.
[1] Digital in Asia. "State of Digital Payments Across Asia: A 15-Market Tracker." May 2026. https://digitalinasia.com/asia-digital-payments-tracker/
[2] Mordor Intelligence. "Asia-Pacific Payments Market Report." January 2026. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/asia-pacific-payments-market
[3] Fintech Singapore / Worldpay Global Payments Report 2026. "Southeast Asia Payment Methods in 2026." April 2026. https://fintechnews.sg/128337/e-commerce/southeast-asia-payment-methods-2026-global-payments-report/
East Asia's payment landscape is structurally distinct from both Western markets and Southeast Asia. In Western markets, Visa and Mastercard dominate. In Southeast Asia, government-built QR rails (QRIS, PromptPay, DuitNow) form the foundation. East Asia sits between these models: China and Japan were built by platform-first super-apps before any state-built alternative existed, while South Korea runs a competitive multi-wallet ecosystem alongside strong card networks [1].
The practical consequence for international businesses is that card acceptance alone is insufficient. Alipay and WeChat Pay account for 84% of Chinese online payments [2]. PayPay is the dominant Japanese QR wallet. KakaoPay, Toss, and Naver Pay collectively drive the majority of South Korean mobile transactions. Entering these markets without local payment method integration means losing the majority of potential customers at checkout.
For businesses also selling into Southeast Asian markets, where the ecosystem is equally wallet-driven but with different dominant players, see our SEA e-wallets guide.
China's digital payment ecosystem is the most mature in Asia. Two platforms dominate, and international card networks have negligible domestic penetration.
Alipay (Ant Group) has over 1.2 billion users globally, with the vast majority concentrated in mainland China [3]. It offers payments, transfers, wealth management, insurance, and credit. QR-code-based transactions are the standard for both online and offline purchases. In February 2026, Alipay launched AI Pay, which surpassed 100 million users within months and processed over 120 million transactions during Chinese New Year week alone, making it the first AI-native payment product at scale [1].
WeChat Pay is embedded within WeChat, the messaging app with over 1.3 billion monthly active users. Because payment is integrated into the same app used for social messaging, file sharing, and daily communication, it captures transactions that would otherwise bypass a standalone payment app. WeChat Pay's strength is its social commerce layer: peer-to-peer transfers, in-chat payments to merchants, and mini-program checkout all happen without leaving the conversation.
UnionPay remains China's dominant card network with cards accepted in over 180 countries. It accounts for 93% of overall card spending in China [4]. While wallets dominate in urban areas, UnionPay serves older demographics, rural regions, and higher-value transactions where card infrastructure is preferred.
For international businesses: Alipay and WeChat Pay are non-negotiable for selling to Chinese consumers. Integration through a compliant local partner or a payment gateway with China coverage is the only practical path. UnionPay matters for higher-value transactions and the demographic segments less reliant on mobile wallets.
Japan's mobile payments market is forecast at $0.28 trillion in 2025, growing at 31% CAGR to $1.07 trillion by 2030 [1]. The trajectory is steep, but Japan starts from a lower cashless base than its East Asian neighbours. The government's "cashless vision" targeted 40% non-cash share of household consumption by 2025, and progress has accelerated.
PayPay is the clear winner of Japan's QR wallet competition. With over 60 million users, it has become the default QR-based payment across convenience stores, restaurants, retail, and online checkout. PayPay's acquisition by the SoftBank-Yahoo Japan ecosystem gives it distribution advantages that competitors cannot replicate.
Rakuten Pay is the second major wallet, integrated into Rakuten's e-commerce platform and loyalty ecosystem. Users pay with linked credit cards or Rakuten Points, creating a closed-loop spending cycle. For merchants already on the Rakuten marketplace, Rakuten Pay integration is natural.
d Barai (NTT Docomo) leverages Japan's dominant mobile carrier to reach consumers who prefer telecom-linked payments. Its user base skews older and more suburban than PayPay's.
Cross-border QR interoperability is advancing rapidly. The KakaoPay-PayPay partnership launched in September 2025 allows Japanese PayPay users to make offline payments at over 2 million Korean merchants, and Korean tourists can use KakaoPay at PayPay's Japanese merchant network [1]. Alipay+ extends PayPay's acceptance to 16 partner wallets across Asia, meaning a Thai GrabPay user or a Filipino GCash user can pay at PayPay merchants in Japan [1]. Japan's METI has indicated full ASEAN cross-border QR interoperability is a 2026 target.
For international businesses: PayPay is the essential Japanese integration, with Rakuten Pay as the close second. Cards remain meaningful for higher-value transactions. Japan's cashless transition is genuine but slower than Korea or China, so a multi-rail strategy (PayPay + cards + Rakuten Pay) is necessary.
South Korea's mobile payments market reached $44.4 billion in 2025 and is forecast to grow to $48.3 billion in 2026 [1]. Daily wallet transactions hit 29.71 million in the first half of 2024. The market is structurally competitive, with three major wallets and strong card network presence.
KakaoPay (Kakao Corporation) integrates with KakaoTalk, the messaging app used by approximately 90% of South Koreans. With over 36 million users, KakaoPay covers money transfers, bill payments, online purchases, and in-store QR payments. Its integration into daily communication makes it a default payment method for a population that is already messaging-first.
Toss (Viva Republica) is the fastest-growing Korean fintech payment platform and was largely absent from older coverage of the Korean market. Toss has expanded from peer-to-peer transfers into a full financial super-app offering payments, banking, insurance, and investment. For merchants targeting younger Korean consumers, Toss integration is increasingly essential.
Naver Pay is linked to Naver, South Korea's dominant search engine and e-commerce platform. Users pay with stored credentials, reducing checkout friction on Naver Shopping and partner merchants. Its strength is in online commerce rather than in-store payments.
Samsung Pay leverages NFC and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technology, allowing it to work at virtually any card terminal in Korea, not just NFC-enabled ones. This gives it broader physical acceptance than QR-based wallets.
For international businesses: Support KakaoPay as the primary wallet. Toss for younger demographics. Naver Pay for e-commerce. Cards (Visa, Mastercard, local Korean card networks) remain strong for higher-value transactions. For a deeper look at the South Korean payment landscape including detailed market share data, see our dedicated blog.
Hong Kong is the East Asian market where the correct strategy is to support everything. There is no single dominant wallet or rail. Cards, wallets, transit payments, and bank transfers all hold meaningful share simultaneously [1].
Octopus began as a transit card for Hong Kong's MTR and has expanded into retail, convenience stores, parking, and vending. Contactless tap payments via Octopus card or mobile app are deeply embedded in daily life. For small-value, high-frequency transactions, Octopus is the default.
AlipayHK is the localized version of Alipay for Hong Kong residents, with over 3 million users. It serves peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, and online shopping in HKD. Critically, it also serves as the bridge for mainland Chinese tourists paying at Hong Kong merchants through Alipay's cross-border functionality.
WeChat Pay HK offers equivalent functionality for Hong Kong consumers within the WeChat ecosystem, plus cross-border payment access for mainland Chinese visitors.
Faster Payment System (FPS) is Hong Kong's real-time interbank transfer rail, operated by the HKMA. It enables instant transfers between banks using mobile numbers, email addresses, or FPS identifiers. FPS handles both HKD and RMB, supporting cross-border settlement with mainland China.
Cards remain significant. Visa and Mastercard have strong penetration, particularly for e-commerce and higher-value retail. Card payments account for approximately 38.6% of e-commerce transactions [4].
For international businesses: Hong Kong requires the broadest payment method coverage of any East Asian market. Octopus for transit and small-value, AlipayHK and WeChat Pay HK for tourists from mainland China, FPS for bank transfers, and Visa/Mastercard for higher-value retail and e-commerce. The operational complexity for merchants is real, but the alternative is losing significant customer segments.
The most significant development across East Asia in 2025-2026 is the linking of wallet ecosystems across borders.
The KakaoPay-PayPay partnership (September 2025) is the landmark deal: Japanese tourists pay in Korea via PayPay, Korean tourists pay in Japan via KakaoPay, all through existing QR infrastructure with no new app downloads [1]. Alipay+ extends this further by connecting PayPay to 16 partner wallets across Asia, including GrabPay, GCash, Touch 'n Go, and TrueMoney. This means a Southeast Asian tourist in Tokyo can pay at PayPay merchants using their home wallet.
Indonesia's QRIS is also pursuing interoperability with Japan and South Korea, while China has piloted cross-border QR linkages enabling millions of Indonesian merchants to accept Alipay and UnionPay [1].
For businesses operating across both East and Southeast Asia, these cross-border wallet connections are collapsing the distinction between "domestic" and "international" payment acceptance. A payment gateway that can accept cross-border QR payments alongside domestic methods will capture transaction volume that would otherwise require the customer to switch to an international card.
Three priorities for payment acceptance in East Asia.
First, integrate market-specific wallets. Alipay and WeChat Pay for China. PayPay for Japan. KakaoPay for South Korea. There is no single wallet that works across all four markets. Each requires its own integration, either directly or through a gateway with local coverage.
Second, maintain card acceptance alongside wallets. Unlike Southeast Asia where wallets have displaced cards, East Asian markets (particularly Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong) maintain meaningful card transaction volume. Cards are not optional here, they are complementary.
Third, prepare for cross-border QR expansion. The KakaoPay-PayPay link and Alipay+ network mean that wallet-based cross-border payments are moving from pilot to production. Businesses with physical presence in Japan, Korea, or Hong Kong will see increasing inbound payments from tourists using their home-country wallets. Your payment infrastructure needs to accept these flows.
[1] Digital in Asia. "What is the State of Digital Payments Across Asia in 2026? A Comprehensive 15-Market Tracker." May 2026. https://digitalinasia.com/asia-digital-payments-tracker/
[2] GR4VY. "Payment Methods by Country 2026: What Dominates Each Market." April 2026. https://gr4vy.com/posts/payment-methods-by-country-2026-what-dominates-each-market-and-how-to-accept-them/
[3] Tazapay. "Local Payment Methods and E-Wallets in Southeast Asia: The 2026 Guide." https://tazapay.com/blog/local-payment-methods-ewallets-in-southeast-asia (cross-reference for Alipay user data)
[4] Primer.io. "A Guide to Alternative Payment Methods in Asia Pacific." March 2026. https://primer.io/blog/a-guide-to-alternative-payment-methods-in-asia-pacific
[5] Mordor Intelligence. "Asia-Pacific Payments Market Report." January 2026. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/asia-pacific-payments-market
[6] Fintech Singapore / Worldpay Global Payments Report 2026. "Southeast Asia Payment Methods in 2026." April 2026. https://fintechnews.sg/128337/e-commerce/southeast-asia-payment-methods-2026-global-payments-report/
Southeast Asia is not a single payment market. It is six distinct markets, each with its own dominant rails, wallet ecosystems, and consumer preferences. What unifies them is a structural shift: government-built real-time payment systems and mobile wallets have overtaken cards as the primary way consumers pay.
Indonesia's QRIS processed 18.2 billion payments worth $39.4 billion in 2025, a 47% increase year over year [1]. Thailand's PromptPay handles over 74 million transactions daily [2]. In the Philippines, GCash serves 94 million users and moves approximately $9.3 billion monthly [3]. Singapore's digital wallets overtook debit cards as the leading point-of-sale payment method in 2025 for the first time [4].
For international businesses selling into these markets, the implication is operational: supporting only international card networks means you are accessible to fewer than 15% of potential customers in most ASEAN markets [2]. A payment gateway that integrates local methods alongside cards is not optional. It is the price of entry.
Singapore's digital payments market is projected to expand at 18.3% CAGR to reach $480.6 billion by 2030 [5]. Cards remain strong (44% of e-commerce value in 2025), but the shift is toward real-time payment rails and wallets.
PayNow is Singapore's real-time transfer system. Users send money instantly using mobile numbers or UEN (Unique Entity Numbers). PayNow is now connected cross-border to India's UPI (operational since July 2025), Thailand's PromptPay, Malaysia's DuitNow, and Indonesia's QRIS. Real-time payments are projected to boost Singapore's GDP by S$793.2 million in 2026 [5].
GrabPay holds 35.3% of Singapore's digital wallet market share [4]. DBS PayLah!, ShopeePay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay fill the rest. Wallet payments make up approximately 11% of e-commerce transactions in 2026 [5].
SGQR unifies all QR payment schemes under a single merchant code. Over 30 digital payment schemes are supported, allowing consumers to scan one code and choose their preferred app [6].
For international businesses: PayNow is the essential integration for Singapore. Cards remain important for higher-value transactions. GrabPay and DBS PayLah are the default wallet tier. For more on how PayNow works in an international payment gateway, including the UPI-PayNow cross-border link, see our Singapore payments blog.
Thailand has the most dominant state-built payment rail in Southeast Asia. PromptPay, overseen by the Bank of Thailand, is the country's most common payment method. A2A payments accounted for 44% of e-commerce value and 43% of POS value in 2025, the highest A2A share of any SEA market [2].
PromptPay has 74 million registered users and processes over 74 million transactions daily [2]. P2P transfers are free. Merchant acceptance is nearly universal, embedded in every domestic bank app. Thailand's mobile payments market is estimated at $34.08 billion in 2026, growing at 14.62% CAGR through 2031 [7].
TrueMoney holds approximately 16.8% wallet market share with 39,000 agent outlets serving unbanked populations. Rabbit LINE Pay integrates with Bangkok's BTS transit system. ShopeePay covers e-commerce checkout. GrabPay ties into ride-hailing and food delivery.
Cross-border: PromptPay connects to Singapore's PayNow, Malaysia's DuitNow, Indonesia's QRIS, and Vietnam's VietQR.
For international businesses: PromptPay is mandatory. Without it, you lose access to the 44% of e-commerce value flowing through A2A payments. TrueMoney adds reach into rural and underbanked segments. For a deeper look at how PromptPay works in an international payment gateway, including checkout integration and authorization flows, see our dedicated Thailand payments blog.
Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest payment market and the only major SEA market with three dominant wallet players. Cash share of POS value halved from 77% in 2019 to 36% in 2025, driven almost entirely by QRIS and BI-FAST [4].
QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) is the national interoperable QR standard launched by Bank Indonesia. It processed 18.2 billion payments worth $39.4 billion in 2025, up 47% year over year [1]. Over 40 million merchants and 57 million users are connected. 92% of QRIS merchants are micro and small businesses [2].
GoPay holds approximately 32% wallet share. DANA holds 28%. OVO holds 23%. ShopeePay is the fourth player. Together they cover the majority of Indonesian digital payment volume [8].
For international businesses: A single QRIS integration theoretically reaches all wallets. However, for online and e-commerce payments, direct wallet integrations (GoPay, OVO, DANA) typically deliver better conversion and richer data [9]. The best approach combines both. For more on how DANA works within an international payment gateway, see our dedicated Indonesia payments blog.
Malaysia has the highest digital payment adoption in SEA at over 80% [4]. The infrastructure runs on DuitNow, the state-built A2A rail operated by PayNet.
DuitNow QR has reached 2.6 million merchant acceptance points [4]. A2A payments are projected to reach 40% of online value and 16% of POS value by 2030 [4].
Touch 'n Go eWallet evolved from highway toll payments into a versatile digital payment platform supporting retail, bills, and cross-border QR transactions with Singapore. GrabPay holds 38.3% of Malaysia's digital wallet market share [4]. Boost and ShopeePay fill the second tier.
FPX remains Malaysia's primary online bank transfer rail, widely used for e-commerce checkout, particularly for higher-value transactions.
Cross-border: DuitNow connects to Singapore's PayNow, Thailand's PromptPay, and Indonesia's QRIS. Malaysia is among Project Nexus's five founding member systems.
For international businesses: DuitNow QR plus Touch 'n Go eWallet first. ShopeePay for Shopee-anchored merchants. FPX for high-value e-commerce transactions.
The Philippines has the most interesting dual dynamic in SEA: massive digital wallet adoption coexisting with persistent cash usage. Digital wallets captured 41% of e-commerce value and 29% of POS value in 2025, but cash still accounts for 42% of in-store value [4].
GCash dominates with 94 million users connected to over 6 million merchants. GCash now moves approximately PHP 500 billion ($9.3 billion) monthly [3]. It delivers welfare payouts, subsidies, and remittances, serving as the primary financial interface for populations with no bank account.
Maya (formerly PayMaya) targets younger users with integrated savings, credit, and payment features. ShopeePay covers Shopee's e-commerce ecosystem. InstaPay and PESONet are the real-time and batch interbank transfer rails. For a deeper dive into Philippines payment infrastructure, including Dragonpay, GCash integrations, and InstaPay capabilities, see our dedicated Philippines payment methods blog.
QR Ph is the national QR standard, though adoption trails behind QRIS and PromptPay in merchant coverage.
For international businesses: GCash is non-negotiable for the Philippines. Maya as a secondary integration. InstaPay for bank transfers. Cash-on-delivery capability is still necessary for a meaningful share of e-commerce orders.
Vietnam has approximately 41% digital payment adoption, led by MoMo with over 40 million users growing at 18% year over year [3]. The market is moving fast, but cash-on-delivery still accounts for 16% of Vietnamese e-commerce by value [8].
MoMo is the dominant wallet, offering payments, transfers, bill payments, insurance, and financial services. ZaloPay is the essential second wallet, built into the Zalo super-app. ShopeePay anchors e-commerce payments.
VietQR is Vietnam's national QR standard, connecting to Thailand's PromptPay, Laos's Lao QR, and Cambodia's KHQR. Indonesia and Malaysia linkages are in development [8].
For international businesses: MoMo is the must-integrate Vietnamese rail. ZaloPay is the essential second integration. Cash-on-delivery orchestration remains necessary for a meaningful share of online orders.
The most significant development in Southeast Asian payments in 2025-2026 is the linking of national QR systems across borders. Five ASEAN countries have now connected their QR payment schemes, enabling a Filipino tourist in Bangkok to pay with GCash, or a Thai traveler in Singapore to use PromptPay [6].
The connections currently operational or in advanced pilot include: Singapore PayNow ↔ Thailand PromptPay, Singapore PayNow ↔ India UPI, Singapore PayNow ↔ Malaysia DuitNow, Indonesia QRIS ↔ Thailand PromptPay, Indonesia QRIS ↔ Malaysia DuitNow, and Vietnam VietQR ↔ Thailand PromptPay [8].
Project Nexus, headquartered in Singapore since March 2025, is a multilateral initiative by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to create a platform linking real-time payment systems across borders. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and India are founding members. The platform is expected to go live in 2026, enabling cross-border payments from sender to recipient within 60 seconds [10]. A tender for a technical operator launched in April 2025, and the ECB has joined as a special observer with potential to become a participant [10].
For businesses with regional supply chains or customer bases, this cross-border QR interoperability changes treasury management and payout infrastructure fundamentally. Intra-ASEAN B2C and B2B payments are moving toward near-instant settlement at a fraction of traditional correspondent banking costs. For businesses also operating in East Asian markets (China, Japan, South Korea), the payment landscape is equally wallet-driven but with different dominant players. See our East Asia digital wallets guide for the equivalent breakdown.
Three priorities for payment acceptance strategy in Southeast Asia:
First, integrate country-specific methods. A gateway that only offers Visa and Mastercard will capture cards (20-50% of volume depending on market), but miss the e-wallets and A2A payments that dominate each market. At minimum, support the top method per country: PayNow (SG), PromptPay (TH), QRIS (ID), DuitNow (MY), GCash (PH), MoMo (VN).
Second, differentiate between QR and direct wallet integration. National QR standards (QRIS, PromptPay) provide breadth. Direct wallet integrations (GoPay, GCash, TrueMoney) provide depth. For e-commerce, wallet-level integration often delivers higher conversion and richer transaction data.
Third, plan for cross-border QR. As ASEAN QR interoperability matures, consumers from one SEA country will increasingly pay in another using their home wallet. Your gateway needs to accept these cross-border QR payments alongside domestic methods.
[1] Bank Indonesia. "QRIS Transaction Statistics 2025." Reported in Mordor Intelligence Mobile Wallet Market Report, February 2026. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/mobile-wallet-market
[2] Digital in Asia. "How Do Digital Payments Work in Southeast Asia in 2026?" June 2026. https://digitalinasia.com/how-digital-payments-work-in-southeast-asia/
[3] Digital in Asia. "What is the State of Digital Payments in Southeast Asia in 2026?" May 2026. https://digitalinasia.com/digital-payments-southeast-asia-ecommerce/
[4] Fintech Singapore / Worldpay Global Payments Report 2026. "Southeast Asia Payment Methods in 2026." April 2026. https://fintechnews.sg/128337/e-commerce/southeast-asia-payment-methods-2026-global-payments-report/
[5] 2C2P / PwC. "Payments' State of Play 2026: Singapore." 2026. https://2c2p.com/articles/singapore-payment-methods/
[6] Kadence. "Southeast Asia's Wallet Wars Are Shaping a New Consumer Economy." September 2025. https://kadence.com/en-us/knowledge/southeast-asias-wallet-wars-are-shaping-a-new-consumer-economy/
[7] Mordor Intelligence. "Thailand Mobile Payments Market Report." January 2026. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/thailand-mobile-payments-market
[8] Digital in Asia. "State of Digital Payments Across Asia: A 15-Market Tracker." May 2026. https://digitalinasia.com/asia-digital-payments-tracker/
[9] dLocal. "Digital Wallets in Southeast Asia: Methods, Markets & E-Commerce Guide." June 2026. https://www.dlocal.com/blog/guides/digital-wallets-in-southeast-asia-methods-markets-e-commerce-guide/
[10] BIS Innovation Hub. "Project Nexus: Enabling Instant Cross-Border Payments." https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/nexus.htm / MAS. "Project Nexus Completes Comprehensive Blueprint for Connecting Domestic Instant Payment Systems Globally." July 2024. https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2024/project-nexus-completes-comprehensive-blueprint-for-connecting-domestic-ipses-globally
