Asia-Pacific is the world leader when it comes to the adoption of mobile payments. In 2019, more than one in two smartphone users in this region are expected to make contactless mobile payments in-store, according to a forecast cited in the report (The “Asia-Pacific Top 10 Mobile Wallet Profiles 2019″ report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering).

The number of mobile wallets in China from providers such as Alipay and WeChat Pay surpassed half a billion people in 2017 and is projected to remain on the growth path through 2022. Another fast growing market for mobile wallets in Asia-Pacific is India. The value of mobile wallet transactions is projected to more than double between 2018 and 2021, benefitting the top competitors such as Paytm and PhonePe.

Japan has lagged behind the countries such as China, India and South Korea in terms of mobile wallet adoption, but has shown some improvement in the recent years, as reported in this publication. The number of QR-based wallet users in this country is projected to see strong double-digit growth rates through 2021 and companies such as Rakuten, LINE, SoftBank and Yahoo! Japan have already embarked on this emerging opportunity. Furthermore, the ASEAN countries are also gradually adopting digital wallets. The trend is championed by popular ride-hailing services such as GrabTaxi and GO-JEK, which both launched their own mobile wallets.

Asia-Pacific tops the world in mobile wallet adoption

Asia-Pacific has the world’s highest mobile payment user penetration, surpassing 50% of smartphone users in 2019, according to the market data. The largest market in the region, China, has more than half a billion of mobile wallet users and continues to grow. The top competitors in this country include Alipay and WeChat Pay, which combined, processed the lion’s share of transaction value in 2018. Another mobile leader, India, is also expected to see strong growth reflected in the doubling of the value of mobile wallet payments by 2021.

Local mobile wallet solutions are growing across the region mobile wallet asia

In addition to Alipay and WeChat Pay, other local competitors have emerged to tap into mobile wallets’ growth in Asia-Pacific. These include Paytm and PhonePe in India and GrabPay and GO-PAY in Southeast Asia, described in the report. Furthermore, consumers in Japan are also starting to adopt innovative mobile payment methods offered by companies such as Rakuten and LINE.