Asia-Pacific Region: Driving Change in Global Payments

The world’s retail eCommerce sales are expected to rise from $4.2 trillion in 2020 to $7.3 trillion by 2025. One of the main contributors to such rapid growth is the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with its focus on innovation in the payments technology field.

Aside from online sales, there are many other aspects in which APAC shapes the future of the global payments landscape. Find out which industry trends are rooted in this region and what the future of this area looks like, according to experts.

Understanding the APAC Payments Landscape

There is no official definition of the APAC region and its borders. However, it is generally considered to encompass the geographical area across 13 countries throughout eastern and southern Asia and Oceania.

APAC stretches over a vast territory and is home to over 60% of the world’s population, which makes it an extremely diverse region with highly competitive markets. In fact, the Asia-Pacific area dominated the global payments industry in 2020, with approximately $900 billion in revenue.

In addition, the APAC payments landscape is very flexible and dynamic, which creates a perfect environment for the creation and adoption of industry trends and, as the global pandemic has shown, is resilient enough to recover from crisis situations.

Key Payment Trends in the Asia-Pacific Region in 2022

APAC has a significant influence on the global payments landscape, so It's important to stay updated on the current state of affairs in this area.

Here are some of the main payment trends in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022:

1. Offering Unmatched Payment Processing

Merchants across the APAC race to optimize their operations and improve consumer experiences. This is due to the fact that consumers nowadays have a plethora of stores and payment methods to choose from.

Such a competitive environment makes it difficult for businesses to determine the customer journey and predict their actions. Thus, merchants focus on delivering the best shopping experience possible to attract potential clients, win their loyalty, and get bigger revenues.

This is done by the following means:

• Focusing on omnichannel retail
• Ensuring a straightforward checkout process
• Facilitating frictionless transactions
• Offering a wide variety of payment methods
• Minimizing waiting times
• Providing impeccable customer service and support

A flaw, even in one of these aspects, would put a merchant several steps behind the competitors.

2. Using Data to Personalize Customer Experiences

Another way for a business to stand out in a highly competitive market is to make its clients feel like they are special and all their unique preferences are met. Merchants across APAC understand the importance of creating a fully personalized shopping experience for every client by offering the products they need through their favorite channels with payment methods convenient for them.

Such customization is possible thanks to the power of data. When a purchase is made, the business collects information on the products the client is interested in, the payment method used, the platform through which the transaction was conducted, and other details of the customer journey. This data is then analyzed and used to create a tailored experience for every consumer.

3. Building Long-Term Payments Strategies

When COVID-19 hit, the APAC region was the one to suffer the first wave of the pandemic. It forced many businesses to speed up digitization to offer eCommerce services and contactless payments. In 2022, some of these merchants found themselves stuck with a fragmented network of payment channels that fails to offer accurate data insights.

At this point, it’s clear that issues like this could be avoided with the help of a thought-out payments strategy that takes into account the potential radical shifts in consumer behavior and makes businesses more agile and resilient.

Thus, a common trend for merchants in APAC countries nowadays is to invest in a long-term payments strategy to be prepared for any market challenges that may arise.

4. Rapidly Moving Away from Cash

APAC is leading the payments revolution as the region with the fastest-growing volume of non-cash transactions. Here are some numbers that prove it:

• The share of cashless transactions in APAC is forecasted to rise by 109% in the period from 2020 to 2025.
• Eight of the top ten countries to embrace mobile payments are located in APAC.
• The contactless and electronic payments market in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at an unmatched CAGR of 22.4% from 2022 to 2027.
• China and India combined account for more than 50% of the world's smartphone users, with eWallets being ubiquitous in these countries.
• Mobile payments help resolve the issue with unbanked individuals in APAC. For instance, India's Payments Banks (PBs) are primarily used for mobile payments and have the potential to serve 190 million unbanked adults.

As you can see, there’s plenty of evidence supporting the theory that many countries in APAC are quickly moving toward a cashless economy.

What Can Merchants Learn from APAC’s Example?

The Asia-Pacific region’s example demonstrates that staying ahead of the growing global competition requires businesses to adopt a detail-oriented approach that tracks and takes into account every preference of the clients throughout their customer journeys.

Merchants have to put a personalized shopping experience at the heart of their payment strategy and develop an action plan that’s thought-through, long-term, and based on insights derived from the collected data.

Trying to adjust to the changing consumer behavior, add new payment methods, and comply with international regulations is a lot of work. Payneteasy optimizes every part of the process to help you navigate the ever-changing payments landscape with maximum efficiency. Reach out to our sales team now for more information on our solutions!