Payment trends at the point of sale worldwide: Mobile wallets becoming the dominant payment method

Customers' payment habits in brick-and-mortar retail are changing rapidly around the world. Mobile wallets, contactless payment and biometric methods are increasingly replacing cash and traditional card payments. The dynamics vary from region to region, but one common trend is clear: the future of payment is digital, fast and convenient.

On average, digital wallets are already the standard in brick-and-mortar retail in the APAC region, with mobile wallets accounting for half of all payments. However, the level of development differs significantly from country to country.

In some countries, cash is still the leading payment method at the point of sale. In Thailand, cash remains the dominant payment method at the POS with 46%, as well as in Japan (41%), Malaysia (32%), Vietnam (38%) and the Philippines (44%). However, the share of payments with digital wallets is gaining in importance in all these countries. In Malaysia, wallets will overtake cash in the next few years, while a share of 53% is expected for Thailand in 2027 and 50% for Vietnam.

• In China, 66% of all POS payments are already made via digital wallet. All other payment methods play a subordinate role.
• In India, too, digital wallets are already the dominant payment method at the point of sale with 51%.
• In markets such as India, Indonesia and Singapore, QR code-based payments continue to drive the wallet boom.

Mobile payment is expected to become increasingly important in many countries in the coming years. In India, digital wallets are forecast to account for more than 70% of retail payments. In Singapore, digital wallets are expected to overtake credit cards by 2027, accounting for 44% of POS payments. In South Korea, where credit cards are the most commonly used payment method, digital wallets are expected to increase their market share to 41% by 2027. In Taiwan, digital wallets are also forecast to increase to 41% of POS payments by 2027, an increase of 23 percentage points compared to 2023.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing impressive growth in digital payments. Mobile payments and e-wallets are booming - in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Israel, the use of digital payment methods has long been part of everyday life. In less digitized markets such as Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, however, the digital transformation still offers enormous potential.

• 52% of consumers use mobile payment.
• QR code payments and tokenization are also becoming more popular.
• UAE considering the introduction of a digital central bank currency, the digital dirham.

Country-specific wallets such as STC Pay in Saudi Arabia or MyFawry in Egypt are particularly popular. Governments are actively promoting digitalization in the payment sector, including through initiatives such as “Vision 2030” in Saudi Arabia or the “National Innovation Strategy” in the United Arab Emirates. The SwatchPay payment service was introduced there, which enables contactless payments with Swatch watches.

In Germany and Austria, cash is still frequently used – at 69% (DE) and 73% (AT), it is still the most commonly used payment method. At the same time, mobile payments and contactless payments are growing rapidly:

• 36% of Germans have made mobile payments in the last 12 months (2023: 26%).
• 69% make contactless payments – mostly by card, but increasingly also by smartphone or smartwatch.
• Young target groups are driving the trend: 64% of 18 to 29-year-olds use mobile payment, a quarter of this group even pay exclusively by mobile phone.

In Scandinavia, the change is already further along: in Finland (89%), Denmark (76%) and Sweden (75%), contactless card payments dominate the POS – cash is playing an increasingly minor role there.

In many European countries, the willingness to make mobile payments via smartphone or smartwatch is increasing. More than 30% of respondents in Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, for example, can imagine a more intensive use of mobile payment in the next two years; the frontrunner is Ireland with 39%.

Biometric payment is an exciting future trend: 43% of Germans can already imagine paying by iris scan or facial recognition.

Whether biometric payments in Germany, e-wallets in Egypt or CBDCs in the UAE – it is clear to see worldwide that payment methods at the point of sale are changing fundamentally. Consumers today expect speed, security and convenience – brick-and-mortar retailers and retail technology providers are called upon to meet these expectations with flexible, integrated payment solutions.