KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — Ninety-three per cent of consumers in Southeast Asia (SEA) are using a multitude of cashless payment methods including cards, contactless cards and mobile contactless, mobile wallets and QR code payments, according to a study by Visa.
In its Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2022 'Navigating A New Era In Payments', it said this was led by consumers in Singapore (97 per cent), Malaysia (96 per cent), Indonesia (95 per cent) and Vietnam (95 per cent).
However, an increasing number of consumers are opting for cashless payments in markets where cash remains dominant, such as Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Since the start of the pandemic, it said over half of Southeast Asian consumers use cash less frequently (56 per cent), particularly those in Indonesia (68 per cent), the Philippines (66 per cent), and Malaysia (60 per cent).
"Contactless cards are poised for further growth in the region due to high awareness (69 per cent) and interest (75 per cent) among non-users.
"Awareness is highest in Singapore (90 per cent), Thailand (87 per cent) and Malaysia (84 per cent ), consumers in the Philippines (89 per cent), Thailand (86 per cent) and Vietnam (83 per cent) are most interested to use this payment method," it said in the study.
On growth for digital banks, it said the adoption of digital banking services is expected to rise as Southeast Asia’s banking landscape continues to see liberalisation.
In Singapore for instance, four recipients of digital banking licences plan to begin operations in 2022, and the Philippines granted six digital banking licences in 2021.
Malaysia has just awarded five digital banking licences in April 2022, while Thailand and Indonesia are exploring licences for fully digital banks.
Meanwhile, the study has shown that 74 per cent of Malaysian consumers have succeeded in going cashless.
“Home delivery usage remains high in Malaysia with nine in 10 consumers currently using it.
“Of this, one per three (1/3) are first-time users during the pandemic,” the study said.
The top three reasons for carrying less cash were attributed to the increased use of contactless payments (75 per cent), increased use of card payments (60 per cent) and more widespread acceptance of cashless payments (45 per cent).
It also noted that currently, 70 per cent of consumers used cards online, while 56 per cent chose contactless cards and 40 per cent opted for mobile contactless as their digital payment method in the market.
The latest survey was commissioned by Visa and conducted from August to September 2021 among 6,520 consumers aged 18 - 65 years of age in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
— Bernama
