New Delhi: India has experienced the most rapid increase in the proportion of alternative remittance utilized for e-commerce transactions across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, surging from 20.4 percent in 2018 to 58.1 percent by 2023, as per a recent report.
GlobalData, a leading data and analytics firm, attributes this surge to the widespread adoption of mobile wallets, prominently facilitated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which enables seamless real-time mobile payments through QR code scanning.
The report underscores that alternative payment methods have gained significant popularity in nations like China and India, and are progressively gaining traction in other APAC markets.
Shivani Gupta, Senior Analyst specializing in Banking and Payments at GlobalData, noted, “While cash has traditionally dominated most Asian markets, the adoption of alternative payment methods, both online and offline, is rapidly increasing across several regions, outpacing trends observed in Western markets.”
“This shift is propelled by expanding accessibility to smartphones and the Internet, enhanced convenience in electronic payments, and the proliferation of mobile and QR code-based payment solutions,” Gupta added.
The report additionally highlights that cash-intensive countries in the region such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia are following a similar trajectory.
Gupta emphasized, “Alternative payment solutions hold a dominant position in e-commerce sectors across numerous APAC countries, bolstered by rising Internet and smartphone penetration rates, and growing merchant acceptance of digital payments.”
She also projected that given their convenience, speed, and security features, coupled with anticipated robust growth in the regional e-commerce market, “these payment tools are poised to further gain momentum and disrupt the consumer payment landscape in the APAC region.”
