Singapore has continued to lead in the payments sector, with funding for payments reaching over $319 million during the first nine months of 2025 — surpassing the total FinTech funding (of which payments is a subset) for Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam combined, a report showed Wednesday.
According to the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and PwC Singapore launched “Payments’ State of Play 2026” report, payments accounted for 44 percent of Singapore’s total FinTech funding in the same period, underscoring its prominence and indicating sustained investor interest.
The report also highlighted that digital payments in Singapore reached a transaction value of $39.37 billion in 2023, and is projected to grow to $113.65 billion by 2030.
As of 2025, Singapore has a highly banked population, with over 98 percent of adults estimated to be holding bank accounts.
The mobile wallet user base was projected to reach 3.2 million by the end of 2025, an increase from 1.5 million in 2020, representing an almost 16.4 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) increase.
In addition, digital wallets are expected to dominate online and point-of-sale (POS) transactions, handling S$89 billion ($69.86 billion) by 2027, an increase of S$41 billion ($32.18 billion) in 2023, growing at a CAGR of about 21.4 percent.
The country leads Southeast Asia in cashless adoption, with 97 percent of retail point-of-sale (POS) transactions cashless as of 2022.
Over the past decade, digital wallet usage has increased exponentially; e-commerce payments made through digital wallets grew from 7 percent in 2014 to 39 percent by 2024.
Similarly, POS transactions using digital wallets surged from 1 percent to 29 percent in the same period.
Singapore is also recognized as a regional hub for FinTech and payments innovation, outpacing many developed markets in digital wallet usage and mobile payments penetration, supported by a favorable regulatory environment and strong consumer adoption.
It is noted that millennials form the largest group of digital wallet users, with an adoption rate of 70 percent, compared to 39 percent among Baby Boomers.
Generation Z and Millennials are also particularly active in using digital wallets for cross-border payments, underscoring a significant generational shift in payment behavior.
Among Generation Z consumers in Singapore, PayNow is the preferred option for 68 percent, while about 29 percent also use GrabPay.
Many Generation Z users rarely carry cash, with a substantial portion relying entirely on mobile phones for transactions.
Overall, 30 percent of Singapore consumers use their phones exclusively to make payments, a figure notably higher than the global average.
The report highlighted that Singapore is a global leader in payments innovation, offering a diverse and secure ecosystem of payments activities.
These activities are closely regulated by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act (PSA) 2019, which provides a robust framework to ensure safety, trust and innovation across the sector.
“The development of Singapore’s payments ecosystem is underpinned by progressive regulations and strong public-private partnerships,
“With the adoption of technologies like real-time payments, digital wallets, blockchain and artificial intelligence, Singapore has become a regional and global hub for payments innovation,” said Wong Wanyi, FinTech Leader of PwC Singapore.
According to her, challenges such as the rise in fraud and scams accompanying the growth in digital transactions remain a focus.
For her, this necessitates robust security measures, heightened awareness, and ongoing cooperation among regulators, financial institutions and technology providers.
As a leading global financial center, Singapore actively employs advanced fraud detection and prevention strategies to safeguard its digital economy, she added.
“Looking ahead, Singapore’s payments sector is poised for stronger growth momentum driven by embedded finance, super apps and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions,
“By fostering continual innovation and collaboration, Singapore is well-positioned to both address evolving challenges and capitalize on new opportunities, reinforcing its leadership in global payments,”
Meanwhile, Holly Fang, President of Singapore FinTech Association, said the report highlighted the growing complexity of today’s payments landscape.
“As digital payments, wallets, stablecoins and embedded finance become increasingly mainstream, safeguarding trust requires a shared responsibility framework,
“Addressing challenges such as fraud and scams will depend on collaborative action across the entire ecosystem and value chain,” she added.
As they enter the next phase of payments development, advances in generative AI, she sees programmable money, and real-time cross-border payment rails will further accelerate the move towards a borderless, secure and fully digital payments future.
“By continuing to work closely across the ecosystem, Singapore can strengthen its position as a global payments hub and set the pace for sustainable progress in the years ahead,” she noted.
According to the report, some 92 percent of Singaporeans have used a digital payment method in the one year through November 2025.
The gross merchandise value (GMV) of the city-state’s digital economy is estimated to rise from $29 billion in 2024 to between $40 billion and $65 billion by 2030.
Real-time payments (RTPs) transaction volumes across Asia-Pacific are also projected to double from 49.2 billion in 2022 to 96.2 billion by 2027, with Singapore leading adoption through systems like PayNow.