Credit card dominance in Singapore to wane by 2027 with digital wallet rise

Digital wallets will dominate 50% of online transactions and credit card spending will fall to 32% in three years.

In three years, more Singaporeans will use digital wallets, with spending projected to reach $89b by 2027 from $41b in 2023.

Data from 2024 Global Payments Report from Worldpay showed that digital wallets has overtaken credit cards as a preferred way to pay for online purchases.

By 2027, Worldpay forecasts digital wallets to dominate 50% of online transactions and credit card spending to fall to 32%.

In 2023, credit cards emerged as the most dominant payment method by transaction value in e-commerce (42%) and POS (37%).

“The increasing interoperability of regional payment systems and the success of the Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR), the world’s first unified payment QR code, has led to a forecast of strong growth for digital wallets in Singapore,” Worldpay said.

Meanwhile, BNPL’s share of e-commerce transaction value will remain steady in Singapore, accounting for 2% of transaction value but growing at a CAGR of 8% from 2023 to 2027.

The BNPL methods is popular amounts  young and digitally savvy consumers. In Singapore, 77% of GenZ and 47% for Millennials survey respondents had used BNPL.

Only 28% of Gen X and 13% of Baby Boomers responded have used BNPL.