Southeast Asia stands at the forefront of the global digital payment revolution. In 2026, the region's digital payment market is projected to reach US$789 billion in transaction value, with an anticipated compound annual growth rate of 16.78% through 2030. This remarkable trajectory reflects not just technological advancement, but a fundamental shift in how 700 million consumers and millions of businesses across ASEAN conduct financial transactions.
Market Size and Growth Trajectory
The numbers tell a compelling story. Digital payment transaction value in Southeast Asia exceeded US$247 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$417 billion by 2028. According to the landmark e-Conomy SEA report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, digital payment adoption has grown from US$600 billion in 2021 to exceed US$1 trillion by 2025—and this momentum shows no signs of slowing.
The decline of cash is equally striking. Cash now accounts for just 2% of e-commerce sales and 14% of point-of-sale transactions across Asia-Pacific—a dramatic shift from 2014 when cash represented 15% of e-commerce and 67% of POS sales. By 2030, these figures are expected to drop to 1% and 9% respectively.
Country-by-Country Analysis
Thailand: QR Code Leader
Thailand ranks among the world's top three countries for QR code adoption, alongside China and Malaysia. The country's digital payment frequency has increased fivefold in just five years—from 63 transactions per person annually in 2017 to 312 in 2021. Thailand's PromptPay system serves as the backbone, now interconnected with Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia for cross-border payments.
Indonesia: QRIS Dominance
Indonesia's QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) has achieved remarkable penetration. By early 2025, over 56 million Indonesians were using QRIS for payments, while approximately 38 million merchants had adopted the system—92.5% of which are micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The system recorded 2.6 billion transactions in Q1 2025 alone, with cross-border usage growing 225%.
Bank Indonesia launched QRIS Tap in March 2025, an NFC-based system addressing QR code scanning speed limitations. The international expansion is aggressive: QRIS became operational in Japan in August 2025 (the first non-ASEAN country), with China targeted by end of 2025 and Saudi Arabia by 2026.
Singapore: Financial Hub Innovation
Singapore leads as Southeast Asia's fintech innovation center, with the highest average transaction value per digital commerce user in the region. Digital wallets are expected to overtake credit cards as Singapore's leading online payment method by 2026. The city-state's PayNow real-time transfer system has become a cornerstone of its cashless society, enabling instant payments via mobile numbers or business identification numbers.
Vietnam: E-Wallet Explosion
Vietnam's e-wallet market is dominated by MoMo, which commands over 31 million users with comprehensive services spanning bill payments, money transfers, and investment options. Vietnam has activated QR payment connectivity with Laos and is actively pursuing links with China, Japan, and South Korea. The VietQR system continues to expand merchant acceptance across urban and increasingly rural areas.
Malaysia: Cross-Border Pioneer
Malaysia's DuitNow system has emerged as a cross-border payment success story. In the first half of 2025 alone, Malaysia recorded 11.8 million cross-border QR transactions worth RM967 million—surpassing the total for all of 2024. The country ranks alongside Thailand and China as a global leader in QR code adoption rates.
Philippines: QR Ph Interoperability
The Philippines' QR Ph standard promotes interoperability among diverse payment service providers. Users can make payments using any participating e-wallet or banking app with a single QR code scan, simplifying merchant acceptance and reducing the need for multiple QR codes at points of sale. The system is preparing for deeper integration under Project Nexus.
Key Technologies Driving Change
QR Code Interoperability
Ten Southeast Asian countries now operate national unified QR systems, with eight nations enabling cross-border QR interoperability. Currently connected systems include Cambodia's KHQR, Indonesia's QRIS, Lao PDR's Lao QR, Malaysia's DuitNow, the Philippines' QR Ph, Singapore's PayNow, Thailand's PromptPay, and Vietnam's VietQR. Global QR transactions are set to exceed US$5.8 trillion in 2024, with Asia-Pacific accounting for over 60%.
Project Nexus: The 2026 Game-Changer
The most significant multilateral initiative is Project Nexus, launched by the BIS Innovation Hub with ASEAN central banks. Unlike bilateral links, Nexus creates a hub-and-spoke model where each instant payment system connects once to a central gateway, gaining access to all participating countries. With India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand onboard, and Nexus Global Payments established in Singapore, the initiative is on track for full rollout in 2026.
By standardizing message formats, compliance protocols, and foreign exchange processes, Nexus promises near-instant payments across jurisdictions at minimal cost—a transformative development for businesses operating across multiple ASEAN markets.
Mobile Wallets and Super-Apps
Southeast Asia records the fastest growth in mobile wallet adoption globally, with a projected 311% increase by 2025 driven by e-commerce expansion and super-app ecosystems. Half of the world's top 10 countries for e-wallet penetration are in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Digital payments are forecast to represent 91% of total e-commerce payments in the region by 2025.
B2B Payment Digitization
While consumer payments have transformed rapidly, B2B cross-border payments present both significant challenges and opportunities. Visa B2B Connect and Mastercard Cross-Border Services enable secure, near real-time cross-border business payments, with increasing adoption among ASEAN banks.
Innovative players are entering the space: Circle Singapore received its Major Payment Institution license in 2023, providing institutional clients access to tokenized cash infrastructure for cross-border treasury operations. XREX Singapore specializes in B2B cross-border settlements using stablecoins while maintaining regulatory compliance. Regional infrastructure providers Tranglo (Malaysia) and Thunes (Singapore) continue expanding API-based cross-border settlement capabilities.
However, B2B payments face persistent challenges including exchange rate volatility, regulatory fragmentation across jurisdictions, and complex compliance requirements—areas requiring continued attention from fintech innovators and regulators alike.
Regulatory Developments
ASEAN's regulatory landscape is evolving to support digital payment expansion. The Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), launched during the ASEAN Summit in September 2023, establishes cooperation frameworks for digital trade, cross-border e-commerce, and digital payments—with finalization expected in 2025.
ASEAN has set an ambitious roadmap toward a fully integrated QR ecosystem by 2030. In the near term (2025-2026), bilateral linkages will expand to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines, with regulatory alignment and infrastructure upgrades laying the foundation. By 2027-2028, the aim is a regional network with multi-currency support, deeper financial inclusion, and early central bank digital currency (CBDC) integration.
What Businesses Should Prepare For
For businesses operating in or expanding to Southeast Asia, several strategic priorities emerge for 2026:
Embrace QR payment acceptance: With cross-border QR connectivity now spanning eight ASEAN nations, businesses should ensure compatibility with regional QR standards to serve both domestic and visiting customers seamlessly.
Prepare for Project Nexus: The 2026 rollout will significantly reduce cross-border payment costs and settlement times. Companies should evaluate how this infrastructure can streamline treasury operations and regional payments.
Leverage AI for efficiency: Companies in Southeast Asia anticipate 7-9% cost savings and up to 9% revenue growth through AI and generative AI implementation by 2027, particularly in payment processing, fraud detection, and customer service.
Monitor CBDC developments: Central banks across the region are piloting CBDCs through initiatives like Project Agora and mBridge. Early understanding of these developments will position businesses advantageously as programmable money enters mainstream commerce.
Consider stablecoin solutions: For B2B cross-border transactions, licensed stablecoin providers offer increasingly viable alternatives to traditional correspondent banking, particularly for SME trade corridors.
The transformation of Southeast Asia's payment landscape represents more than technological progress—it signals the emergence of an integrated regional economic zone where financial transactions flow as freely as goods and services. For businesses, understanding and adapting to these changes is no longer optional but essential for competitiveness in the world's fastest-growing digital economy.
