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Localization is key to

long-term growth in APAC

India, Thailand and Indonesia, at least 70 percent of
consumers see themselves as "tech savvy" or "looking
for smart solutions," while only 37 percent of consumers
in Japan and Taiwan say the same thing. This is despite
internet and smartphone penetration being significantly
higher in the developed APAC countries, with internet
penetration reaching over 90 percent in Japan.

Conversely, research findings indicate 735 million Indians
lack internet access, yet India is home to the highest
consumer ecommerce growth rate worldwide, possibly
helped by 22 percent smartphone penetration. Here, the
most popular payment method is Paytm, a digital/mobile
wallet. Users can add money to the Paytm wallet through
Unified Payment Interface (UPI), internet banking, or
credit/debit cards, and send money from a Paytm wallet to
By Kristin Gjerding a bank account or another person's Paytm wallet.
CellPoint Digital Across APAC markets, e-wallets and bank transfers have
increased dramatically as preferred ways to pay, likely
he Rapyd 2020 Asia Pacific eCommerce and driven by the pandemic. E-wallets and bank transfers
Payment Study, which sought to understand represent an emerging wave of payments—particularly
the financial habits, payment method choices when enhanced by interoperable real-time payment (RTP)
T and preferences of consumers in seven APAC systems, like UPI in India and PromptPay in Thailand.
countries, provided a number of useful insights to busi-
nesses looking to build a frictionless payment experience In a card-preferring market like Singapore, e-wallets
in the region. and bank transfers such as PayNow are preferred by 42

percent of respondents, researchers noted. Meanwhile,
The findings—including frequency of purchases through credit cards are the top payment method in Japan, with
online and brick-and-mortar channels, consumers' cash over the counter, such as Konbini, also a strongly
attitudes toward new financial and payment technologies, preferred payment method.
and payment method preferences—demonstrate why
integrating a range of alternative payment methods Apparently, use of cards for years in developed countries
(APMs) is critical to success in the region. But merchants has slowed adoption of alternatives, while consumers in
must go a step further and identify which APMs are most the emerging economies have bypassed cards altogether,
appropriate in each APAC country. finding other ways to pay online or via mobile wallets or

A single region, a plethora of payment preferences bank transfers. Consequently, the use of APMs is higher
in these countries.
Although we're seeing strong growth in digital payment
adoption across the APAC region, distinct preferences While debit cards are still frequently used in Indonesia,
are emerging in each country. For example, in its Retail research shows they score low in popularity, highlighting
payments in Indonesia report, KPMG noted that only 4 the stronghold e-wallets have on everyday transactions.
percent of Indonesians have international credit cards, This reinforces how businesses can gain market share in
and their debit cards are often pre-set to disable online this area by offering a wide breadth of payment options to
payments due to fraud and security reasons. J.P. Morgan, consumers.
however, stated in E-commerce Payments Trends: India that
in India, cross-border spending makes up 75 percent of What does this tell us?
total ecommerce sales. Most importantly, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-
all payment solution for APAC consumers. Preferences and
Perhaps one of the more surprising findings, though, is behaviors vary so vastly that a blanket approach cannot be
that the appetite for innovation and new technologies as effective as tailored offerings. Secondly, a huge range
seems much higher in the developing markets. In Malaysia, of APMs is actively used across the APAC region, and

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