In the past decade, digital wallet adoption in Singapore has surged, overtaking long-standing payment methods such as credit cards and cash as the preferred payment method.
According to Worldpay’s Global Payments Report 2025, digital wallets now lead e-commerce transactions and are the second most-used payment method for point-of-sale (POS) transactions, accounting for 39% of e-commerce transactions, and 29% of transaction value in 2024.
The figures represents a more than fivefold increase for e-commerce transactions over the past decade, from just 7% in 2014. In the POS segment, the share of transactions made via digital wallets surged 28 points from a mere 1% in 2014.
In contrast, credit cards, once the dominant method, saw their share of e-commerce transactions drop sharply from 70% in 2014 to 37% in 2024. Similarly, cash usage declined significantly, dropping from 43% of POS transaction value in 2014 to just 13% in 2024.
Singapore’s top digital wallets
A consumer survey conducted as part of the research revealed that the most popular digital wallets used in-store in Singapore are DBS PayLah! (25%), Apple Pay (22%), GrabPay (12%) and Google Pay (12%). When shopping online, survey respondents cited Apple Pay (24%), PayPal (20%), ShopeePay (18%) and GrabPay (18%) as their top digital wallets.
These trends align with findings from a new e-book from Thunes, which identified 14 mobile wallets in Singapore, alongside bank-operated apps, and which found similar market shares for leaders DBS PayLah!, GrabPay, Google Pay and Apple Pay.
DBS PayLah! is a versatile mobile wallet app developed by DBS Bank in Singapore, designed to simplify daily transactions and lifestyle activities. Available to both DBS customers and non-customers, it offers a comprehensive suite of features that extend beyond basic payments, and which includes rewards and deals, ride booking, and food ordering. It claims 2.3 million customers.
GrabPay is a mobile wallet and digital payment platform integrated into the Grab super app. It enables users to make cashless transactions for various services, including ride-hailing, food delivery, online shopping, and in-store purchases. GrabPay is said to have about 4.9 million users in Singapore.
ShopeePay is a digital wallet developed by Shopee, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia. In Singapore, ShopeePay offers users a convenient and secure method to make cashless transactions both online and offline. It’s said to be serving more than 30 million users across the region.
Finally, Apple Pay and Google Pay are global brands that are available in nearly all APAC markets. They are most popular in affluent countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Globally, Apple Pay is said to be serving more than 500 million users, while Google Pay has an established customer base of about 150 million users.
Payment forecasts to 2030
Looking ahead, the report forecasts that payment cards and cash will continue to gradually cede share to digital payment methods through 2030.
By then, digital wallets are expected to overtake all payment methods for both e-commerce purchases and POS transactions, accounting for an estimated 47% of online purchases, and 44% of in-store transaction value.
Account-to-account (A2A) payments are also expected to grow, projected to reach 13% of e-commerce and 10% of POS transaction value by 2030, up from 7% and 5%, respectively, in 2024.
Cryptocurrency payments, while still small, are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% through 2030, and reach 2% of e-commerce transaction value.
In contrast, traditional payment methods, including cash and payment cards, are expected to continue to decline. Credit card are set to fall by 11 points for e-commerce and by 10 points for POS transactions by 2030. Cash payments will drop further in POS usage, declining by 5 points. It’s projected to maintain a minimal 1% share of e-commerce payments in 2030.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik
